‘Flight’
Directed by Robert
Zemeckis
Written by John Gains
With Denzel
Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood
And John Goodman
Fasten your seat belts. Flight will have you searching for
any alternative to flying to get to your next faraway destination. This film,
brilliantly directed by Robert Zemeckis(“Forrest Gump,” “Glory,” “Training Day,”
“Castaway”) is not just an air disaster nailbiter, but really a character study
of its lead character, Whip Whitaker, astutely played by Denzel Washington.
Whip, a former Navy ace, is a commercial pilot who likes his
booze, coke and weed. In the opening scenes he wakes up after a night of sex
and drugs with a flight attendant. He takes a long swig of alcohol, chugs a couple
of beers. To wake himself, he does a few
lines of coke. Next you see him in his pilot’s uniform boarding a plane in Orlando ,
Fla. Atlanta ,
Ga.
He is higher than a kite. He straps himself into his seat
after drinking three mini bottles of vodka. Finally he guides the plane into
the sky. After takeoff, mechanical difficulties cause the plane to lose its
power: it is in free fall. There are
terrifying scenes of chaos and frenzy. Somehow he calmly and masterfully
crashes the plane with the loss of only a few lives. He is hailed as a hero.
Until the inquiries begin. Whip’s blood alcohol levels
indicate he was drinking. Legions of media people want explanations. The
pilots’ union and the airlines want a cover up. Insurance companies are
circling. An attorney (Don Cheadle)is hired. Whip’s drinking is the issue. Was
he drunk when he flew that plane?
The real story of “Flight” is about a man coming to terms
with the truth about himself.
Whip has a drinking problem. He has an ex-wife who hates
him. His son hates him. Now his flying career is over. He is tough, but also
frail. He has a haunted look, he stumbles, blacks out, is often falling down
drunk. He does not seek help. He has saved 96 lives, but he can’t save himself.
There is a NTSB hearing to determine Whip’s state of mind while
flying. Ellen Block (Melissa Leo) leads the examination. He has been carefully
prepped by the attorneys.
Denzel Washington gives a simply perfect in-depth
performance as a man struggling to come to the truth about himself. A bit of
comic relief is provided by John Goodman who plays Hurling Mays, Whip’s drug
pusher. This comic element is a little out of place in this hard-nosed story.
“Flight” is not about the horrific airplane crash. It is a
thoughtful film about how a person can fake it, how one tries to get through
life as an alcoholic. It is a thriller, a legal drama with some romance, a bit
of melodrama. Will there be redemption? See “Flight” and you will find out.
