Flight, 2012.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood and John Goodman.
SYNOPSIS:
A pilot comes under scrutiny after his plane malfunctions and he is miraculously able to safely land it.
I went in to Flight knowing very little and certainly got more than I expected. What I was expecting was a story of a pilot being wrongfully accused of the crash of his passenger jet, but what transpires is a much deeper story about addiction.
Denzel Washington plays Whip Whittaker a passenger pilot, and whilst there is an undeniably likable charisma about him he is a character you will hate for much of the proceedings. The film opens on the morning of a flight, Whip has been on an epic drinking binge and continues to drink and use drugs. Even whilst on the flight itself. From this point, Whip has to do a lot to win back your affection, which begins shortly when his plane malfunctions and plummets in a nose dive to the ground. Whip shows incredible skills to be able to bring the plane under control and safely direct it out of harms way resulting in 6 deaths of the 102 passengers and crew, leading to an investigation of the crash which reveals Whip’s illegal activities and his lawyers attempts to make sure he avoids jail time.
Denzel Washington is absolutely fantastic – and my pick for the Best Actor Oscar – as he portrays the troubled and unwilling to accept he has a problem Whip. Refusing all offers of help as he can “quit anytime” he wants he tells himself, Whip repeatedly fails to give up drinking. Eventually Whip is forced to betray someone he cared about with yet another lie, or to finally tell the truth and save his soul. The journey in between I found fascinating, as the film never tries to make you sympathise with Whip – you do but that is largely down to the charisma Denzel brings to the role. Throughout my thoughts were on wanting to see Whip get what he deserved and I thought the film created an intriguing juxtaposition between wanting Whip to be able to move forward and quit but also wanting to see him punished for his endangering of peoples lives.
As I’ve said a large part of feeling for Whip comes from the charm that exudes from Denzel, however despite being intoxicated during the flight, Whip is able to pull off a miracle feat when he is able to take control of the plane during its malfunction. The effects and camera direction from Zemeckis are incredible. He makes it feel as though you are right there in the cockpit with them as every bump and turn can be felt from your cinema seat. It was a real visceral experience as whilst I’m not afraid of flying, I’m certainly not always at ease during even the slightest of turbulence.
The problem with Flight was despite an enigmatic lead there are no supporting characters which are interesting. Kelly Reilly, as recovering drug addict Nicole, whose story intertwines with Whip’s is not all that interesting. It is nice to see her be able to deal with her problems so well but we aren’t really given a reason to care about her enough and she doesn’t seem to struggle too much with her addiction to begin with. Don Cheadle, as Whip’s lawyer, is fine, but there’s not really too much to the character to be a great addition to the story. And what is some of the worst acting at times that I’ve seen in a while, Bruce Greenwood descends in to some over the top, unbelievable irate emotion from time to time.
Going back to Whip, I liked the story that was presented and played out. It’s an interesting take on the guilt and lies that an addict deals with and the demons within. Rather than getting cliched and ‘soppy’, Flight doesn’t try to make you fall in love with him, it simply shows you what it is like to be an addict, and why lies and deceit cannot go unpunished if people are to to turn themselves around.
Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Martin Deer
Originally published February 6, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
