"Defying the impossible. Living the dream."
Cinema 5, SM Megamall
The main problem with biopics is that 2 hours is not enough to correctly capture the major (and minor) details of a person's life. Usually the life story is crammed into snippets and vignettes about what the scriptwriter deems is important enough to deserve a scene or two to be presented to a keen audience.
Amelia Earhart lived a full life. A rather brief life yet she accomplished so much and pioneered in an industry that was dominated by rich men. She was neither wealthy nor a man for that matter yet she was ambitious and never let any hurdles stand in her soaring career as a woman pilot. She was blessed to have the loving support of her husband, publisher George Putnam, a man who not only believed in her ability but moved heaven and earth to get her the much needed funds to fuel her lofty ambitions.
Hilary Swank as the indomitable Amelia Earhart was charming to say the least. She has always been a good actress and essays all her roles with ease. I don't think it is her fault if some of the dialogue sounded quite lame especially when Amelia and George exchanged lovey dovey sweet nothings. Richard Gere was in his elements as George Putnam, the publishing magnate who was her personal cheering squad, her financial adviser, her partner and simply her everything. I just found the pairing a bit odd (although he was indeed 10 years older than Amelia) but the chemistry was palpable so I guess it works.
The film itself seemed like a smorgasbord of the many achievements in Earhart's amazing career presented through a myriad of on and off flashbacks, voice narration and stunning cinematography. The plot moved at a steady sometimes slow pace as it attempted to present her many crowning glories.
The exciting part comes towards the few remaining minutes of the film when Amelia embarks on her final and rather mysterious journey to circumnavigate the world. Everybody knows how that flight ended in tragedy yet it was interesting to watch what exactly went wrong during that fateful flight. I wish they concentrated more on her last epic flight yet as nobody knows what really happened during that flight, I guess they couldn't elaborate much on that scene. So her 'disappearance' will forever be part of an aviation myth. Sadly and unfortunately so!
Amelia Earhart lived a full life. A rather brief life yet she accomplished so much and pioneered in an industry that was dominated by rich men. She was neither wealthy nor a man for that matter yet she was ambitious and never let any hurdles stand in her soaring career as a woman pilot. She was blessed to have the loving support of her husband, publisher George Putnam, a man who not only believed in her ability but moved heaven and earth to get her the much needed funds to fuel her lofty ambitions.
Hilary Swank as the indomitable Amelia Earhart was charming to say the least. She has always been a good actress and essays all her roles with ease. I don't think it is her fault if some of the dialogue sounded quite lame especially when Amelia and George exchanged lovey dovey sweet nothings. Richard Gere was in his elements as George Putnam, the publishing magnate who was her personal cheering squad, her financial adviser, her partner and simply her everything. I just found the pairing a bit odd (although he was indeed 10 years older than Amelia) but the chemistry was palpable so I guess it works.
The film itself seemed like a smorgasbord of the many achievements in Earhart's amazing career presented through a myriad of on and off flashbacks, voice narration and stunning cinematography. The plot moved at a steady sometimes slow pace as it attempted to present her many crowning glories.
The exciting part comes towards the few remaining minutes of the film when Amelia embarks on her final and rather mysterious journey to circumnavigate the world. Everybody knows how that flight ended in tragedy yet it was interesting to watch what exactly went wrong during that fateful flight. I wish they concentrated more on her last epic flight yet as nobody knows what really happened during that flight, I guess they couldn't elaborate much on that scene. So her 'disappearance' will forever be part of an aviation myth. Sadly and unfortunately so!
