Review: FLIGHT

Whip Whitaker: Denzel Washington
Hugh Lang: Don Cheadle
Nicole: Kelly Reilly
Charlie Anderson: Bruce Greenwood
Harling Mays: John Goodman
Margaret: Tamara Tunie

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Written by: John Gatins
Running Time: 138 minutes
Rated: R (for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity and an intense action sequence)

When the film starts off with its principal character stumbling out of bed and starting his morning with a bottle of beer and a few lines of coke, you already get the impression that this man is on a collision course with disaster. When he departs from his hotel room wearing the classic uniform of an airline pilot, you suddenly start to wonder how many people are going to die because this guy is high and drunk. After the character crashes and burns (literally) instead of a movie about the crash of an airliner, we get a powerful character study about the human condition and substance abuse. One of the most powerful films about alcoholism since Leaving Las Vegas, Robert Zemeckis’ first live feature since Cast Away in 2000 is a marvel of character, suspense and the downfall of one man’s addiction.

The film wouldn’t have been the same without Denzel Washington, who played Captain Whip Whitaker, the heroic pilot whose time in the limelight destroy him as his secrets could ruin his career and land him in prison. In what I would seriously call an Oscar worthy performance, Denzel’s portrayal as a man with a serious problem comes across as very authentic. There’s one part when he gets offended when someone tries to tell him what to say and he responds by saying “I’ve been lying about my alcoholism for twenty years, I don’t need your help.” Whip understands he had a serious problem but is unable to face his own demons until it almost kills him and a hundred souls onboard his plane, which literally fell apart on him at 30,000 feet. Even though what happened up there wasn’t his fault it brings up a sensitive issue; if you are consuming anything just putting yourself behind the wheel of anything breaks a public trust and is criminal. Despite saving lives and being very lucky, Whip has a problem and it is dragged out front and center following a spectacular crash.

The crash sequence at the beginning of the film takes your breath away. Something unexpected happens and everything is done by the pilots to not only bring the airliner down as safely as possible but to also avoid hitting residential areas and increasing the potential body count. It’s this moment that creates a real paradox for not only the audience but the characters in the film. The Captain of this flight probably shouldn’t have been behind the wheel of anything let alone an airliner with a hundred souls onboard but at the same time he was the only man with the instincts, will power and experience to bring the plane down with minimal loss of life. Despite the Captain’s flaws and addiction, he was the only man that was able to bring the plane down as safely as he did, saving over a hundred people. It’s hard for the characters of the film to challenge this man since if anyone else had been in his place, everyone likely would have died. This creates a problem as politics and other factors come in to confuse the issue and when lawsuits from passengers are an issue, an obvious cover up of a few details is considered to prevent bad press and liability.

(Not a movie for those who are queesy about flying)

The supporting cast was just as impressive as Bruce Greenwood and Don Cheadle are just as good playing the union rep and lawyer trying to protect Whip and his flaws from becoming public knowledge. While both men have other motives for what they’re doing, their attempt to sweep Whip’s alcoholism under the rug is disturbing as they are clearly putting lives in danger by trying to deny something that clearly endangers lives to save their people from being sued. They’d rather let an alcoholic back on a plane rather than have their people pay out some hefty liability over what happened. That alone is just upsetting. While we know it’s not real, politics like that happen all the time as people have been known to put the almighty dollar above the safety of others. While it is upsetting, that doesn’t change the reality of it. While John Goodman is barely in the film, he presents some of the best moments in the film and is very funny the way he throws what weight he has left around.

What makes Flight such an amazing movie is the fact that throughout the movie you’re conflicted regarding its main character. You’re unsure if you want to like Whip for saving all those people or if you should hate him for being a boozing dick who put lives at risk for consuming alcohol before flying a jetliner. Zemeckis successfully makes us care about a man who should go to prison for what he did, and even though Washington’s character consistently lets you down, you still root for him hoping that next time he’ll fight hard enough to resist. Any director who is able to accomplish has made a great character study that will leave many of us thinking about our pilot the next time we get onboard any plane to fly.

Rating: 9 (Out of 10)