Here’s the premise of Flight as described by IMDb: “An airline
pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions
reveals something troubling.” It sounds like bit of a feel-good movie, but
nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, the place crash serves as the
backdrop to the real story—addiction.
The “something troubling” alluded to in the description is pilot
Whip Whitaker’s alcoholism, which may or may not have played a part in the
crash. Watching him explore the depths of his addiction was heartbreaking, but also mesmerizing. The juggling act Whitaker undertakes in his bid to balance
his heroic deeds with his demons left me conflicted, and I loved it. Should I
like this character? Am I really rooting for him to succeed or do I want him to
do the right thing?
Washington played the part brilliantly, and it's one of his
finest performances to date. Training Day is still tops in my
book, but Flight isn’t too far behind. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if
he got a Best Actor nod come Oscar time.
While Washington was the star, he was surrounded by an excellent
supporting cast. John Goodman, whose name has been mentioned as a possible Best
Supporting Actor nominee for his part in Argo, was excellent as Harling Mays,
Whitaker’s old friend and enabler; while Nadine Velazquez and Tamara Tunie made
for sensible flight attendants. None of them were prominent characters, but
each had a crucial role to play.
I was also blown away by Kelly Reilly, who played drug addicted
Nicole. She was an unlikely love interest and was on the road to recovery while Whitaker was headed in the opposite direction. Reilly, perhaps best known
for her role in the Sherlock Holmes films, was tragically graceful, and a real
pleasure to watch. There’s no doubt in my mind Flight will propel her into a
higher tier in Hollywood.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Bruce Greenwood and Don Cheadle as Charlie Anderson and Hugh Lang respectively. The former plays the
part of Whitaker’s old friend and pilot’s union rep, while the latter is a
criminal defense lawyer. Both try their best to support Whitaker, despite the
difficulties, and end up becoming affected by his addiction.
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| The buddy: My old man getting ready to see Flight. |
The plane crash scene, which serves at the film’s hook, was
forceful. I fly a lot for work, and in the back of my mind I’m always worried
about the plane going down. I assume a lot of people are like me in that
regard. With that said, watching the scene was scary. The panic in a situation like that has to be underpinned with sheer terror, and I definitely got that feeling. When Whitaker
asked one of the flight attendants her son’s name and then told her to say she
loves him for the black box, well let’s just say it sent shivers down my spine.
Flight is provocative, engaging and a bit tragic as it explores
addiction and how one man can deny its existence while being consumed by it. At
no times was it glamorized, but showed how pervasive it is in our society, even
among professionals and those we trust with out lives. There’s a big difference
between what people present to the world and what’s inside, and Flight does a great job of
bringing that to the big screen. Top it off with a slew of electric
performances, and it makes for one of the year’s best dramas.
Buddies Forever Movie Club Rating: 89%
Good review Chad. Although, there are strong performances (especially really liked Kelly Reilly) and an interesting premise, it never quite finds the “story” it wants to tell. Liked it a lot, but couldn’t get to that point where I loved it.
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