Amelia

So what was it that left me dissatisfied? As a rule, I like Mira Nair's directing ("Vanity Fair" and "The Namesake"), but this time she didn't touch me. As a former private pilot, I usually like aviation movies, but this time I was frustrated by the artistic license they took. I know, I know, artists want a beautiful scene, but if Amelia Earhart was half the pilot the media made her out to be, she would have blushed!

Of course the great unsolved mystery is: What really happened to Amelia Earhart on that penultimate leg of her attempt to circumnavigate the globe? Hilary Swank ("Freedom Writers" and "Million Dollar Baby") stars as Amelia; she has the right look and pulls it off nicely. In fact, they use some real news clippings and it's impressive when you compare the two.

The film explores her off-and-on relationship with George Putnam, the man she eventually married, played by Richard Gere ("Hachiko" and "Chicago"). Lest we forget that she was a liberated female long before there was such a term, we also are treated to a peek at her long-term affair with Gene Vidal (father of Gore), played by Ewen McGregor ("Angels & Demons" and "Star Wars") while still married to Putnam.

After her first trans-oceanic solo (the first after Lindberg's historic flight), Amelia became the Paris Hilton of her day: Putnam crassly exploited her achievements, her face, and her fame, as he made hers a household name and helped raise money to support her flying habit.

This movie is capably done, I just hope your theater has better sound. Our screening was in the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field, and we suspect the venue might have been at fault.