Amelia
(2009/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: B+ Extras: C Film: C
Since her
disappearance over 73 years ago, there have been many variations on the tale of
Amelia Earhart. She is a woman shrouded
in mystery and her life has an element of what tall tales are made of. Conspiracy theorists begrudgingly rejoice in
the events that surrounded her memorable life and her even more shocking
disappearance. Some think she crashed
into the ocean. Others feel she spent
her finally days marooned on an island.
And then there are those who feel it is better to remember her as she
was and not who we want her to be.
Amelia is not a film overflowing with the
speculation of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance (sorry, she disappears at the
end), but rather that is only a minuscule endpoint for a woman who had a
fabulous life. Amelia Earhart was a
woman who had action, adventure, honor and drama in a field that was
overwhelmingly dominated by men. Living
in a man’s world Amelia had to establish her self as a force to be reckoned
with.
The
script is by Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan and it is dull, dull,
dull! I am a history buff and one who
likes the most accurate account of the historic events at that. Amelia,
however, has managed to take the exciting events of a stunning woman’s life and
made them into a drab cinematic venture.
Amelia Earhart was a woman who represented a voice of strong feminism
power in a male dominated world; yet this film has replaced power with
monotonous drama, romance and watered down adventure. Whereas I was hoping for a film more along
the lines of the brilliant Aviator (though
I admittedly know Amelia was no Howard Hughes) I was delivered a film that
quickly fell flat. We see Amelia develop
from young adulthood, at one point enjoying the thrills of horseback riding,
but soon developing a longing for the skies.
Richard Gere appears as George Putnam, Amelia Earhart promoter and
future husband who tries to package and sell the admittedly independent
Amelia. The cast lineup is amazing, but
every character feels restrained, overplayed and dreary. Richard Gere is boring and somewhat
cartoonish in the role. Hilary Swank
seems lost in a role that she is bigger than.
Ewan McGregor is smooth and charismatic, but offers little to the film
and all in all is lackluster.
The film
looks amazing and the money is obviously there; I was just in no way
thrilled. It is somewhat indescribable,
but I was expecting more. All of the
acting is great and the atmosphere is stunning, but the film in the end is
dull. Swank looks incredible as Earhart;
with a somewhat shy demeanor that suddenly explodes at opportune times; not to
mention her uncanny resemblance. I wish
I liked the film more, but I just didn’t.
Whereas
the film’s script (based on 2 biographies of Earhart) was somewhat lacking the
technical features never disappoint. The
picture presented in a 1080p AVC-1 encoded image that overflows with bright,
vivid, warm colors that extenuate the already crisp image, giving it a new
layer of depth. The detail is stunning
with natural flesh tones, inky blacks to frame and a texture that gives the
film a great realism. A visually
pleasing display for sure. The sound is
a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that does not ‘pop’ as well as it should
for a film that involves so many flybys, crowd scenes and rumblings. The sound is by no means bad, but I expected
it to be more immersive than what was delivered. The dialogue is near perfection, but the
rears are quietly utilized and I never felt the ‘boom’ of the bass during the
more crucial scenes. The sound is
adequate at best, but far from disappointing.
The
extras were not thrilling in the slightest as they offer up several featurettes
that after viewing the film interested me very little. Extras include Making of Amelia Featurette; The
Power of Amelia Featurette; The Plane
Behind the Legend Featurette; Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia Featurette; Deleted Scenes;
Movietone News. Movietone News is the
best feature on the disc as it delivers 7 original movie reels featuring Amelia
Earhart flights; a stunning look at the past that gives more insight than
perhaps the film itself.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
