Flight

Flying High

by Hunter Isham

        When I first heard that Robert Zemeckis, director of such classics as Back to the Future and Forrest Gump, was set to make his return to live-action filmmaking with Flight, I was just barely intrigued. His decade-long hiatus was due not to any self-imposed retirement, but rather his infatuation with and support of motion-capture technology. His work with that method of filmmaking, including The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, was admirable but a bit of a mixed bag, so his eventual return to live-action was eagerly awaited by many. So why wasn't I, someone who counts Zemeckis' work among my favorite films, excited about Flight? The very little I knew about it, that Denzel Washington was the lead, a pilot, seemed uninteresting. Would this be some modern Top Gun? (I had assumed Washington was playing some kind of military pilot). As it turns out, Zemeckis had signed on to direct a moving character drama about an airline pilot coming to grips with his substance abuse issues after saving nearly every person aboard his craft during a routine flight gone wrong.
        Zemeckis has pointed out that he wishes audiences could go into a film completely cold, unaware of any character or story details, which would have lent his film a good deal of surprise in its opening moments. We see Whip Whitaker (Washington) indulging in more than a few drinks, and some cocaine, just before suiting up and heading to the airport for his morning flight. The scene is still effective without the shock-value, introducing the audience to a man who is at once wildly out of control yet completely in control of the situation. He's charming even as he seemingly puts his passengers' lives in danger, greeting them at the front of the plane as, just out of sight and with one hand, he makes himself a screwdriver for a little pre-flight pick-me-up. The story quickly progresses when, as the film's trailer shows, something goes horribly wrong, and to stabilize the diving aircraft Whip decides to roll the plane upside down as part of an emergency landing. Upon waking up in a hospital, cable news and a pilots' union rep (Bruce Greenwood) filling in the pieces for him, Whip eventually finds out that blood was drawn, and an investigation is underway to discover the true nature of what went wrong and if he had anything to do with it. From that point on the story becomes a bit quieter; focusing on Whip's personal demons and the relationships in his life, but it never once loses its grip on you. To go into any more detail would simply squander the work done by the cast in this character-driven film.
        Washington leads a fine ensemble in what is one of his best performances, taking a man with inherently terrible habits (especially given his profession), and making him instantly charming, never once allowing him to become a two-dimensional character we should either hate or feel sorry for. Kelly Reilly, a British actress perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. John Watson in the Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes films, is wonderful as a southern woman who struggles with addiction as well, becoming a companion and confidant for Whip. Bruce Greenwood, aforementioned as Whip's union rep, and Don Cheadle, as Whip's lawyer from the airline, are both strong as they struggle to protect their hurting client. James Badge Dale is a standout as a cancer patient Washington and Reilly encounter in a hospital stairwell, imbuing the film with some of the humor that makes it such an enjoyable experience, although the one performer who truly steals the show here is John Goodman. As Whip's hippie drug dealer, Goodman hilariously dominates in his two scenes, remaining just as memorable as Washington despite his small amount of screen time in this two and half hour film. There is nary a weak link in Flight's cast, with both the veterans and the fresh faces turning in fine performances.
        Although Washington is perhaps the main the reason the film works, the great original script by John Gatins and excellent cast are all brought together with considerable skill by director Zemeckis. He is certainly known for flashy (if still substantive) films, including not just his Back to the Future trilogy but also the technically marvelous Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but Zemeckis restricts his flair to the opening crash, allowing tight but simple direction to guide the rest of the story. That crash, however, is about as white-knuckle intense as it gets, feeling about as real as possible, and recalling in my mind moments like the spacecraft re-entry in Apollo 13. This scene is a bit more fantastical, given the choice to roll the plane, but the effects are top-notch, never once seeming false or over-the-top. Although the emergency landing is what film fans will remember as Zemeckis' shining moment in Flight, other scenes demonstrate his great skill, such as one late in the film when Whip confronts his demons, the camera lingering on a miniature bottle of vodka as the audience waits to see what happens next.
        Flight is a surprising film, not the one I expected, and better than I ever hoped it would be. Denzel Washington gives a wonderful performance, simultaneously vulnerable, funny, and strong, alongside a cast of similarly remarkable turns by a cast at the top of its game. Zemeckis deftly weaves it all together, the moments of action, humor, and drama, to create something uniquely excellent. This film is a big-budget drama not based on history or a best-selling novel, a breed of film that has quietly begun to disappear. Flight may not be groundbreaking, nor is it the best movie of the year, but it's a damn fine film with a cast and crew that's never been better. Sit back, buckle-up, and make sure your seats and tray-tables are in the upright position, because you're in for a heart-pounding, emotionally turbulent ride. 9/10