As the box office marquee is being prepared for better movies to come with year-end Oscar hopefuls, many moviegoers have anticipated the arrival of Amelia. What could be more exciting than a biopic with Hilary Swank playing a world famous aviatrix who died for her infatuation? Perhaps a movie filled with more passion for dreaming than a screenplay that seems to be written from Amelia Earhart’s history-making timelines.

The production notes for Amelia begin with the words “Visionary. Lover. Dreamer. Fighter. Legend. Icon.” Had these elements been fully explored throughout this story, it might have been far more satisfying for me -- so let’s explore them one by one.

Anyone who knows only the tiniest bit about Amelia Earhart -- that she disappeared on her historic flight around the world -- can assume she was a DREAMER. Director Mira Nair’s film does begin with Amelia as a young girl in a Kansas field staring up at a by-plane soaring overhead. But that’s about the extent of what we see concerning her young life. I would like to know more about Amelia’s family. Did they approve of her uncharacteristic goals as a young woman? And what was behind her drive to achieve her goals at all cost? None of that comes across in this movie. 

Ron Bass has written terrific screenplays for romantic films such as Snow Falling on Cedars, Waiting To Exhale, and My Best Friend’s Wedding. However, in Amelia his skills are overplayed and the almost sappy romance between Amelia and George Putman (Richard Gere) is too much a part of this movie. Considering Amelia’s warnings to George about not wanting to be married as well as her wish to be free to pursue her own passions, I needed more information about why   this relationship worked. Or didn’t, considering the movie also features segments about Amelia’s love affair with TWA founder and aviation politico, Gene Vidal (father of famed writer Gore Vidal). Also, neither Gere nor Swank made me feel any chemistry between them. So for me, the LOVER angle here left holes I wanted filled with more significant elements.

LEGEND is perhaps the real reason Putman first set his eyes on Amelia. As a member of the magnet Putman publishing house, maybe George only sees dollar signs when he begins to court her. Her first few news-making flights hint at some unsure moments, but Swank’s face never reflects any apprehension about what she’s about to tackle. I’m sure she must have been a strong-willed woman, yet her successes would have seemed even more noteworthy had there been more build up to her accomplishments. Still, Christopher Eccleston, as Amelia’s navigator Fred Noonan, who also disappeared with her, brings some of the more intriguing moments to the screen. Part of my disillusion may be because the movie starts with Amelia on her flight around the world with back flashes of her earlier aviation history. Beautiful scenes of her piloting the plane over gorgeous sand dunes and lush forests only made me think about  The English Patient rather than try to connect Amelia’s past and present story.

To me, the word FIGHTER means rebel or someone who is groundbreaking and doesn’t give up.  Amelia was truly such a person. However, in trying to recollect scenes from the film, I get more memories of Swank as a sullen, paint-freckled woman who seemed more pensive than overt about her ambitions and intentions to fulfill them. I wanted to see some of the grit and heartfelt emotion co-screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phelan brought to the screen in her films In Love and War and Girl, Interrupted in this movie.

I was very excited about seeing Amelia, pumped up more than usual as I had invited Grace McGuire to accompany me to the film. She’s an aviatrix who began making plans to recreate Amelia’s flight years ago and has had more derailments than an early locomotive on its way across the Mojave Desert. Like Amelia, McGuire still has her mind set on taking her Muriel, her 1935 Lockheed Electra L-10E -- the same model flown by Earhart in 1937 and one of the last in existence -- on that historic journey next year. Happily, McGuire filled me in concerning many of the holes about Amelia’s equipment and flights briefly shown in the movie.

Finally, Amelia has definitely become an ICON, but I left the theater knowing little about this woman who set many world records, wrote best-selling books and helped start the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots (briefly mentioned in the film). Swank does her best to portray her version of Amelia, and while her appearance scored high marks (I think it would have been even better without the painted-on freckles), she had a weak script to overcome. Many are already predicting Swank’s third Academy Award nomination for this performance. So far, I don’t see her on my list -- but that depends on the acting in films yet to come.

(Released by Fox Searchlight and rated “PG” for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.