BEFORE: Another film with Richard Gere in a prominent role, though not the lead role. And from the urban legend of the Mothman, we go to the mystery of Amelia Earhart. I remember watching a TV show called "In Search Of..." when I was a kid, hosted by Leonard Nimoy (that may have been the moment I realized that TV characters weren't real, that Mr. Spock from Star Trek was...gasp...an ACTOR!). Each week the show would examine a different mystery from around the world, Noah's Ark or Bigfoot or UFOs. They never really made any definite conclusions, though - that would have spoiled the sense of mystery.
THE 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.
AFTER: Whoops, spoiler alert! Earhart disappears. But you knew that, right? It was in all the papers...
Earhart is played by Hilary Swank (last seen in "Million Dollar Baby"), and I wonder if she got most of her character inspiration from newsreels, since she delivers all of her lines through a forced smile, and Earhart would probably have been smiling while posing for pictures or moviolas. Also, those old newsreels never play back at the right speed, so the action usually seems sped up and manic.
The film can't seem to decide whether to portray Earhart as a naive, honest farmgirl, or a trend-setter in the field of open relationships. She seems to move between men with a modern sensibility, her navigator even thinks she dates like a man does (your typical man, who's probably getting action on the side, that is).
Obviously, Earhart was a pioneer, and one assumes that she would have had to overcome blatant sexism as a female aviator, but where was it? The film is so one-sided in touting her accomplishments, it might have been a good idea to show us someone who thought that women couldn't fly a plane, or predicting that she'd fail. If her accomplishments were so great, let's see the struggle.
Instead the film resorts to cheezy newsreel-style voiceovers, to remind us what she's setting out to do at each stage of her career. (First rule of filmmaking - show, don't tell.) The film also features flash-forwards showing her final around-the-world attempt, since early in the film we see her in Africa - we all know her itinerary, but couldn't they wait to show it to us at the proper time?
Of course, we all want to know what happened to her on her final trip, and why. The film suggests a number of reasons for her disappearance - faulty radio equipment, a hung-over navigator, etc. But nothing could possibly be conclusive, and so we see the plane flying off into the clouds - as if it could disappear, or stay aloft forever. Quite blatantly, that's not what happened - but I suppose it would be distasteful to let reality encroach at that point.
Also starring Ewan Macgregor (last seen in "Angels & Demons"), Christopher Eccleston, Mia Wasikowska, with a cameo from Cherry Jones (as Eleanor Roosevelt)
RATING: 3 out of 10 call signs
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