Amelia (2009)

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Bass (written by) and
Anna Hamilton Phelan (written by) ...

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Defying The Impossible. Living The Dream.

Plot:

A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.

Plot Keywords:

Around The World | Amelia Earhart | 1937 | Pacific Ocean | Pilot

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Hilary Swank	...	Amelia Earhart
Richard Gere	...	George Putnam
Ewan McGregor	...	Gene Vidal
Christopher Eccleston	...	Fred Noonan
Joe Anderson	...	Bill
Cherry Jones	...	Eleanor Roosevelt
Mia Wasikowska	...	Elinor Smith
Aaron Abrams	...	Slim Gordon
Dylan Roberts	...	Leo Bellarts
Scott Yaphe	...	William Dalten
Tom Fairfoot	...	Balfour
Ryann Shane	...	Young Amelia
William Cuddy	...	Gore Vidal
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	Frances Putnam
Richard Donat	...	Gallagher

MPAA:

Rated PG for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.

Runtime:

USA:111 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45262) | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Hong Kong:I | Australia:M | UK:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

AE Electra Productions

Trivia:

Gene Vidal (played by Ewan McGregor), who was widely assumed to have had a romantic relationship with Earhart as depicted in this movie, had only one child, Gore Vidal (played by William Cuddy). Gore eventually grew up to become quite a celebrity himself as a controversial but successful author, screenwriter and political activist.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Amelia asks Putnam to dance with her, she turns on the radio and music is immediately heard. Tube radios take time to warm up before anything can be heard from the speaker.

Quotes:

George Putnam: Come back to me.
Amelia Earhart: Always.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.32)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

You Do Something to Me

Ordinary film of extraordinary woman

Sorry, it's just not enough to have Hillary Swank look the part, which she does. This movie had all the historical ingredients to be a great film, and it instead falls back into the same old bland dialog and formula plot that sinks so many biography movies. This film is like a made for TV movie - paints a pretty picture and refuses to go where no man, or no woman, has gone before. Which means it's a whitewash of history. Offers no real interesting insights into this extraordinary woman - not even her mysterious disappearance. For once, why not just stick to the facts, and give us a slightly less glamorous Amelia, minimize the love story, and show what a truly remarkable explorer she was? How dangerous her flying really was, and the challenges she had to overcome, both in the air and on the ground, in a male-dominated society. This film touches on this, but rather than paint with strong strokes, it uses an airbrush. Not a complete waste of time, just average.