The Deadness
Everyone had heard or suspected that Mira Nair's Amelia would be bad, but I was nonetheless stunned by the boredom and general flatness that leapt -- seethed? -- out of every scene and frame. Ron Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan's script is amazingly drippy and mundane. The roteness of Nair's direction is suffocating. This is probably the last American-funded directing gig she'll have in a long time. Put her in movie jail and throw away the key.
Hilaryu Swank, Richard Gere in Mira Nair's Amelia.
Call it a mildly agreeable time-waster if you want, but if you truly enjoy Amelia or even express a degree of genuine enthusiasm -- "Not too bad! Nice aerial photography!" -- there's really something wrong with you. With your taste buds, I mean. Amelia is a film diseased and poisoned and deadened with schmaltz. It's a major embarassment all around.
Hilary Swank's performance as the legendary aviator is mildly okay in itself (it's mostly about her white teeth) but she's trapped in a lethally dull film so she goes down with the ship regardless. Richard Gere's George Palmer Putnam -- the suave money guy who married Earhart -- is also mildly acceptable. Ewan McGregor's Gene Vidal, an aviation instructor and would-be infidel, reminds you McGregor has a nose for crap and opportunities for career deflation.
How did Fox Searchlight, an operation synonymous with smart classy films and clever, aggressive marketing campaigns, get saddled with this thing?
I heard mild moanings coming from a critic sitting behind me at last Monday's screening on 55th Street, and I heard at least two throat-clearings from other critics sitting nearby.
The Envelope's Pete Hammond recently wrote that "in some ways Amelia is reminiscent of Out Of Africa, which has the same combination of sweep, adventure and romance this film incorporates." Be careful, Pete! The ghost of Sydney Pollack has read that line and is now on the haunt, looking for you.
Hammond also claimed that "if this were 40, or even 20 years ago, Nair's meticulously mounted effort would be deemed a front-runner for awards and a certain thing at the box office." No, it wouldn't. Dramatic mediocrity has been a recognizable thing for centuries, and no self-respecting Oscar handicapper in the late '60s or late '80s would have given Amelia a shot at anything, even out of politeness.
The Hollywood Reporter's Ray Bennett, who damaged his cred when he raved last year about Mamma Mia, recently claimed that Amelia "ranks with recent real-life portrayals of Ray Charles by Jamie Foxx and Truman Capote by Philip Seymour Hoffman and could be similarly awards-bound."
Bennett added that "the classically structured bio will appeal to grown-ups, history buffs and lovers of aeronautics, but in showing how the flier was one of the most lauded celebrities of her time, it also might appeal to youngsters." The mind reels!
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 23, 2009 at 9:52 AM
comment #1
Eloi Manning
says ...
"Ewan McGregor's Gene Vidal, an aviation instructor and would-be infidel, reminds you McGregor has a nose for crap and opportunities for career deflation."
Great line.
Posted by Eloi Manning
at October 23, 2009 10:58 AM
comment #2
Terry McCarty
says ...
Guessing that if this had been made 30 years ago, it would have starred Marilyn Hassett--with Larry Peerce as director.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at October 23, 2009 11:01 AM
comment #3
George Prager
says ...
20 years ago: Demi Moore with Mark Rydell.
Posted by George Prager
at October 23, 2009 11:14 AM
comment #4
Sabina E
says ...
Oh dear.
Posted by Sabina E
at October 23, 2009 11:27 AM
comment #5
Ryansi51
says ...
huh, the CRAP part of the line Eloi quoted is now gone, or did you add that yourself Eloi?
this looks atrociously schmaltzy.
Posted by Ryansi51
at October 23, 2009 11:55 AM
comment #6
LexG
says ...
Hey, if it's not some culture-clash romance where the free-spirited young Indian gal wants to be with a dude from another caste/race/culture, but her traditional parents want her to marry a nice Indian boy, then it's got a leg up on Nair's 100,000 other terrible movies.
Note: My frustration with the above cliched narrative DOES NOT apply if DeafBrownTrashPunk secretly wants to make out with me, in which case I am TOTALLY down.
Posted by LexG
at October 23, 2009 12:01 PM
comment #7
joncro
says ...
Gene Vidal was Gore's dad.
Posted by joncro
at October 23, 2009 12:45 PM
comment #8
actionman
says ...
"The roteness of Nair's direction is suffocating. This is probably the last American-funded directing gig she'll have in a long time. Put her in movie jail and throw away the key."
Let's just be glad she didn't fuck up Shantaram...
Posted by actionman
at October 23, 2009 1:02 PM
comment #9
Bob Hightower
says ...
Her KAMA SUTRA is sexless, but she blamed the
film company and Indian censorship for that.
Posted by Bob Hightower
at October 23, 2009 1:15 PM
comment #10
great scott
says ...
Jeff is way too hard on this film. Swank was good, the cinematopraphy was beautiful, and Bill Murray's brief scene was FANTASTIC.
Posted by great scott
at October 23, 2009 1:37 PM
comment #11
le corbeau
says ...
It's a lock for Best Picture after reading that.
Posted by le corbeau
at October 23, 2009 1:49 PM
comment #12
Chicago48
says ...
Mira's best movie will always be Mississippi Masala. That was da bomb.
Posted by Chicago48
at October 23, 2009 3:22 PM
comment #13
sashastone
says ...
Yeah, I agree with Pete Hammond this one. Moreover, Out of Africa is a *terrible* film that would have been raked over the coals if it were released today.
Posted by sashastone
at October 23, 2009 3:54 PM
comment #14
Alexander
says ...
Ouch.
Not unexpected. 18% at Rotten Tomatoes is, however, quite alarming.
Posted by Alexander
at October 23, 2009 5:23 PM
comment #15
qwiggles
says ...
Bill Murray?
Posted by qwiggles
at October 23, 2009 5:26 PM
comment #16
MrG
says ...
Where's Walter Monheit when you need him?
Posted by MrG
at October 23, 2009 6:55 PM
comment #17
Mighty Kornholio
says ...
you could tell from the trailer this was garbage
Posted by Mighty Kornholio
at October 23, 2009 7:03 PM
comment #18
bluefugue
says ...
>(it's mostly about her white teeth)
That's very good. Nice write-up.
Posted by bluefugue
at October 23, 2009 7:08 PM
comment #19
lipranzer
says ...
See, I never liked OUT OF AFRICA in the first place, so comparing AMELIA to that was a big red flag as far as I was concerned.
Nair needs to do something close to her again. SALAAM BOMBAY, MISSISSIPPI MASALA, MONSOON WEDDING, and THE NAMESAKE all felt like that. This seems more like THE PEREZ FAMILY or HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS, where it felt like she didn't connect with the material.
Posted by lipranzer
at October 23, 2009 7:50 PM
comment #20
Cde.
says ...
How did Fox Searchlight, an operation synonymous with smart classy films and clever, aggressive marketing campaigns, get saddled with this thing?
Apparently, they hardly got 'saddled' with this, but were extremely involved and interfering and played a big part in fucking it up.
Posted by Cde.
at October 23, 2009 8:33 PM
comment #21
ZayTonday
says ...
And Slumbdog Millionaire was simply something they picked up from Warner Independent when they went belly up.
Posted by ZayTonday
at October 23, 2009 9:08 PM
comment #22
George Prager
says ...
40 years ago: Natalie Wood and George Roy Hill.
Posted by George Prager
at October 24, 2009 5:45 AM
comment #23
Terry McCarty
says ...
Re Prager's comment:
I remember John Frankenheimer saying something in an interview (Charles Higham and Joel Greenberg's book THE CELLULOID MUSE) to the effect that he fired his agents when they suggested he direct an Edith Piaf bio starring Natalie Wood.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at October 24, 2009 2:30 PM
comment #24
btwnproductions
says ...
OUT OF AFRICA holds up very well. Oscar voters would still swoon over it.
Posted by btwnproductions
at October 24, 2009 7:45 PM
comment #25
Noiresque
says ...
Chicago48:
Mira's best movie will always be Mississippi Masala. That was da bomb.
-------------------------
Yes, yes, yes.
Sexy and suspenseful and dramatic and appropriately blue-collar. What the hell happened?
I gave Nair up for lose upon watching Vanity Fair. It should have been the perfect role for Reese Witherspoon, but she was well into the movie-star's curse of being desperate to be liked, that Becky Sharp was practically, well, castrated, and lost all of her wit and delicious nastiness. Instead, the only thing I can remember is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers weirdly magnetic non-acting.
Posted by Noiresque
at October 25, 2009 9:48 PM