This is the story of the first female aviator who flew around the world. During a time when most women's place was considered to be in the home raising kids, Amelia Earhart (played by Hilary Swank) was a pioneer who lived her life as an adventure without limits. On the second day of July in the year 1937, communication was lost with Amelia's plane during the last portion of her around-the-world flight. Communications records show that she was in contact with the U.S. Coast guard ship, Itasca, while she was searching for Howard Island. They can hear her radio transmissions on the Itasca, but equipment and battery troubles on the Itasca prevent her from being able to hear their answers. It is presumed that she, with her navigator Fred Noonan (played by Christopher Eccleston), crashed into the ocean when her plane ran out of fuel, because she was not able to locate the refueling station on the small Howard island, due to a tropical storm. An intensive search did not locate the crash site or any survivors. To this day, no evidence exists to pinpoint exactly where her plane went down.
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Even though we know how the story ends, we also get to see how her career as a navigator begins. As a young girl, when other girls are dreaming about dating and getting married, Amelia thinks only of being a pilot. The planes that fly over her farmhouse in Kansas fascinate Amelia. She meets a wealthy businessman named, George Putnam (played by Richard Gere). He takes her, as a passenger, in an airplane that flies across the Atlantic. When she takes the controls, she makes history as the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic in a plane. George helps her write and publish a book about it, which makes her more famous. Amelia does not like taking credit for a flight where George was supposed to be the pilot, so after that she takes on one challenge after another breaking aviation records on her own, including flying solo across the Atlantic just to prove she can really do it. George falls in love with her and they marry.
Amelia has an affair with another pilot named Gene Vidal (played by Ewan McGregor) which almost causes her marriage with George to fall apart. Amelia is tired of all the attention and just wants to fly around the world. She makes up with George and starts her final flight. At first, it is a disaster. Her plane crashes upon landing in Hawaii because of a problem with the landing gear. After repairs fix the plane, she decides rather than go around the world to the west, she will reverse directions going east and leave the most dangerous part, which is crossing the large empty Pacific Ocean, for last. She succeeds in flying all around the world until she is lost at sea, in the Pacific Ocean, on the last leg of her journey.
Best part of story, including ending:
I like stories about courageous females, especially from the times prior to any form of women's liberation in the United States, because they are inspiring.
Best scene in story:
I like the scene when Amelia is a young woman. Because of the way she looks at those planes flying over; we know they must be part of her destiny.
Opinion about the main character:
The best part is her ability to blaze a trail, where no woman has ever gone before.
