What took so long to make a biopic about legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart?

Maybe Hollywood was waiting for a two-time Oscar winner like Hilary Swank to swoop in and commandeer the role.

Swank, a fine physical match for Earhart, finally gets her chance to soar with “Amelia,” directed by Mira Nair (“The Namesake”).

It’s a perfect storm of just the right actress, a story deliciously larger than life and a time of year when Oscar-friendly films start hitting the cineplex.

Yet after nearly two hours audiences feel no closer to Earhart’s legend than when they stumbled their way into the darkened theater.

“Amelia” begins just before the soon to be famous pilot became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane.

Amelia didn’t pilot that plane herself. It was all part of a marketing scheme cooked up by George Putnam (Richard Gere), the savvy publisher who would become Earhart’s husband.

Amelia wasn’t satisfied with a publicity stunt. She wants to soar amongst the clouds and break cultural barriers by becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic on her own.

But … why?

“Amelia” never answers that and many other crucial questions. Sure, we get inspirational speeches, beautifully choreographed flying sequences and luxurious period detail.

It’s Amelia’s motivations which are given short shrift, and as good as Swank can be on screen she’s no match for a unimaginative screenplay which can’t fill in many blanks.

A few sequences hint at more complicated themes. Earhart’s fame came during the Depression, where she symbolized the hope of a nation. And while the pilot didn’t care about publicity, she realized working within the commercial system meant more money for more planes she could pilot.

Earhart’s romantic motivations prove cloudier than the friendly skies, whether it’s her chemistry-free romance with Putnam or her gallavanting with a handsome fellow pilot (Ewan McGregor in yet another thankless role).

It’s almost like a biopic on autopilot – a few memorable scenes here, some archival footage there and a star gussied up to resemble the film’s protagonist right down to her perfectly mussed up hair.

We’re still waiting for a biopic to do Earhart justice.

(Photo: Hilary Swank plays the groundbreaking pilot in “Amelia,” a new biopic directed by Mira Nair – Photo Credit: Ken Woroner)

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