Amelia, a biography of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) is interesting but curiously unengaging. It is reasonably historically accurate (at least by biopic standards) and may be worth watching if you want to learn about the life of this remarkable woman. However as entertainment, as story-telling, it isn’t very successful.

Surprisingly little time is devoted to the dramatic flights that made Earhart famous. The move seems more interested in her personal life, particularly her relationship with her husband and manager, publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere). Yet it doesn’t really succeed as a love story either. Much of the time it just seems to be checking off the significant events in her life.

The only part of the move that achieves much dramatic tension is the final sequence depicting her doomed last flight.

Before that we are treated to a long conversation between Earhart (in New Guinea) and Putnam (in California). Even though they are speaking over short-wave radio, they somehow manage to get a perfect fiber-optic-quality connection, allowing them to whisper endearments to each other instead of shouting over the static. This is probably a good indication of the movie’s commitment to technical accuracy.