Flight

"No One Could have Landed That Plane Like I Did"

Robert Zemeckis returns to live action cinema for the first time since 2000's Cast Away, which likewise featured a terrifying plane crash, shown almost entirely from inside the plane. With Flight, Zemeckis one-ups himself in that regard; this film depicts a plane flight so harrowing and terrifying it induced a feeling of vertigo in me, particularly when the plane fails at 30,000 feet and goes into a dive, losing 4500 feet per minute. Zemeckis sets up this crash in spectacular fashion - first we experience the flight through extreme turbulence, and breathe a sigh of relief when it makes it through. But then the real problem occurs.

The plane is landed in what everyone hails an absolute miracle - of the 102 people on board, only six died. The FAA conducted flight simulators recreating the event and every pilot tested killed every passenger and crew member aboard. Captain William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is said to have "pulled some kind of move up there," doing what seemingly nobody else could have done. Only thing is, he had been drinking and doing drugs the days before the flight; in fact, every night before the flight, to excess. He even drank the morning of the flight, insufflated cocaine, and drank a little screwdriver while piloting the plane.

The NTSB begins conducting their investigation, as they always do in the case of a plane crash. They must determine: was it mechanical failure? Was it pilot error? And the blood test results don't look good for Whip, who could be facing a life-sentence. Whip, to avoid the media at his apartment, takes refuge at his deceased father's farmhouse. He also brings in Nicole (Kelly Reilly), a recovering heroin addict who nearly died from an overdose, which is shown to us in intercuts between Whip and the doomed flight, and her problems with her landlord and drug dependency. They come together in the stairwell of the hospital, which is one of the film's funnier and yet meaningful scenes. Whip takes her in when she's kicked out of her apartment.

When Whip first wakes up from recovery, he has no interest in drinking or doing drugs. His dealer, Harling Mays (John Goodman, who steals every scene he's in), visits him in the hospital, bringing him vodka, which Whip rejects. But it isn't long before Whip revisits his alcoholism, which becomes the core focus of the film.

The direction by Zemeckis is fresh and entertaining, yet isn't afraid to take its time for the more subtle moments. It's a character piece with a large scope and a broad appeal. The script is splendid, dragging us deep into the life of an alcoholic, not pulling any punches, not glossing over any of the darkness that accompanies the disease. Most realistically, Whip knows (though denies to nearly everyone except himself) that he's an alcoholic. But that isn't something he wants to face. In a one honest moment, to Nicole, he admits that alcohol has destroyed most of his life.

The acting is top-notch, particularly from Denzel, who exists in almost every scene. He's likely to go on to receive many award nominations, including the Globes and Oscars. John Goodman is great here as well, and deserves a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Most of his attention seems to be going to his role in Argo, which was solid, but he steals his scenes here.

The film is not perfect, but it is a very entertaining, character-driven dramedy about a very serious subject. It's portrayal of drug use (excluding alcohol as a drug in this instance) isn't the best, but it's also a side issue. Also, without spoilers, I wish more had been done with the fabulous character of Nicole, though granted there is a bit of catharsis to that element in the end. All in all, this is a welcomed return to live-action for Zemeckis, with a great screenplay (worthy of awards consideration) by John Gatins, and Oscar-worthy turns from Denzel and Goodman.

One of the year's best films!

****/****