Flight is remarkable drama film, a thoughtful and provocative character study and a welcome return to live-action filmaking for director Robert Zemeckis.
William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington), is
a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a heroic feat of flying in a
damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people. While
the world begs to embrace him as a true American Hero, the everyman
struggles with this label as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight.
The plot is beautiful work of genius, it tells the story of a man, a deeply flawed man who has lost everything, his wife, his son and he nothing left except his want to drink. But Zemeckis doesn't just shows us Whitaker as a drunk prat but he makes us feel pity for this character and what he goes through and thats because this film shows us he wasn't always like this, he was once a great father and a great husband and the movies shows that beautifully. The same can be said for a a girl he meets while he's in hospital called Nicole (Kelly Reilly) she's had a drug overdose and the two start a relationship, they are characters we sympathesive with and feel sorry for, the only difference is Nicole is better at trying to stay clean and Whip finds it harder.
It also deals with more mature themes than some of Zemeckis' previous film such as Substance Abuse and lying to ourselves and those around us, lets talk about them.
Denial: Throughout the whole film Whitaker tries to stop drinking and at first he seems to have stopped but throughout the film he finds he just can't do it. Through deception and disemblement
Redemption: Whitaker despite the fact that he was drunk when flying the plane (and it's illegal to be drunk when flying a plane, he saved the lives of nearly every passenger and crew member on the plane.
Substance Abuse: William "Whip" Whitaker is a man who has literally nothing, he has lost his wife and his son and spends his days drinking alcohol and sniffing cocine to make himself feel good.
Lying to ourselves and those around us: Whitaker is constantly trying to stay clean but can't and is telling his friends and lawyer that he has quit when really he hasn't.
Robert Zemeckis' direction is precise, the cinematography is beautiful, the score by Alan Silvestri is wonderful, the production design is fantastic, the costumes are stupendous, the make is authentic, the effects for the plane crash are well done and makes for one of the most terrifying flight scenes I've ever witnessed, the sound effects are great and the ending puts a smile on my face.
The whole cast was wonderful,
Denzel Washington delivers a performance playing William "Whip" Whitaker. The character of Cap. William "Whip" Whitaker is not a character that is intrinsically likable but due to Washington incredibly sympathetic performance, he makes him really engaging to watch. We see this guy go through a turbulant psychological journey because he has an addiction that he just can't overcome.
Kelly Reilly is also wonderful as Nicole and she plays some of her early scenes in the film really convincingly (theres a scene were she injects herself with some drug and to watch that was really emotionally effecting, Zemeckis directs really well and Reilly acts out really convincingly.
John Goodman is only in a handful of scenes but he's a blast in every single one of them playing Harling Mays, Whitaker's friend and drug dealer.
Bruce Greenwood is sensitive as Whip's old friend Charlie Anderson and brings the correct amount of wisdom to his character
Don Cheadle is fabulous as attorney Hugh Lang,
Needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to Robert Zemeckis’ next live action work, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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