Amelia

Director Mira Nair (The Namesake, Vanity Fair, Monsoon Wedding), who usually relishes controversial women's issues, plays it safe in this biopic about Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), which may disappoint viewers looking for insights into America's most famous aviatrix. Nair's approach is candy-colored, sugar-coated traditional, telling the oft-told tale of how Earhart always yearned to fly free; married promoter/publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere), who made Charles Lindbergh a best-selling author, and envisioned his wife as Lady Lindy; had a tryst with fellow pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), the father of a very young Gore Vidal (William Cuddy); befriended navigator Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston); and tragically disappeared on July 2, 1937, without a trace, en route to Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean, some 2,500 miles from New Guinea, during a daring flight to circumnavigate the globe. Considering the wealth of lore available to screenwriters Ron Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan, Amelia should have offered a more tantalizing story. Instead, Kasia Walicka-Maimone's captivating period costumes and Stuart Dryburgh's aerial images wind up being more compelling than the bland and banal characters. Tackling yet another androgynous role, two-time Oscar-winner Swank delivers an earnest performance, but her shallow, superficial Amelia never truly soars. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (23 min.), deleted scenes (14 min.), “The Power of Amelia Earhart” featurette (11 min.), and several archival “Movietone News Reels” (7 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are featurettes on “Re-Constructing the Planes of Amelia” (7 min.) and “The Plane Behind the Legend” (5 min.), plus a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing biopic.] (S. Granger)