Flight

"Flight" is a film that brought Denzel Washington an Oscar nomination...something his performance richly deserved. It's a terrific performance in a terrific, yet harrowing, film.

Whip Whitaker (Washington) is an absolute mess. Although he's an airline pilot, he's an addict and boards a plane under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. He's so badly impaired that during the flight, he managed to sneak MORE alcohol into his body! Now here's the amazing part....the plane literally begins to fall apart in midair and through VERY quick thinking, he manages to crash land the plane with only minimal loss of life. When Whip awakens at the hospital, he soon learns that the press is declaring that he's a hero! This film is about his actions and the airline's and the pilot union's following the crash.

The scene where the plane begins to fall apart and crashes is about the most harrowing and adrenaline-pumping scenes you'll ever see in a film. I could actually feel my chest pounding and STRONGLY recommend anyone with a fear of flying to avoid this film!!! It's well done...and it's shocking no Oscar nominations were given to the folks who created this scene!

I appreciate Denzel Washington in this film. Not only is he very good, but he really took a risk here playing such a screwed up and self-destructive guy. This was clearly a stretch for him...and it's nice to see him do something different.

Overall, this is a really amazing film...not just because of the crash but also because it really shows addiction in all its ugliness and with great realism. Among the best of 2012...though oddly apart from Washington and one minor award, the film wasn't nominated for Best Picture nor Best Director.

UPDATE: I recently found "The Pilot" on YouTube. It's a very, very similar story starring Cliff Robertson...so similar that I have to believe the writer of "Flight" was 'inspired' by it strongly. Because it's so similar, I am amending my score for "Flight" from 10 to 9....but it's still a terrific story.

Washington gives what is nothing less than a performance of a lifetime in this tension filled film dealing with a pilot wrestling with inner demons. The aviation sequences are stunning and the crash one of the most breathtaking ever filmed. The director is highly gifted and his skill and passion are clearly evident. The script is superb, with intelligent plotting and sharp dialog that captures reality. It is, once again, Washington who shines here above all else. His power as an actor is what truly gives this movies its fire. His portrayal of a substance abusing addict/alcoholic is painful to watch because of the humanity he brings to the part. It is a tremendous accomplishment and one of the finest studies of addiction ever filmed.

I am an aircraft mechanic, so admittedly I have trouble watching a movie which will undoubtedly abuse reality in terms of physics and aircraft design. I recall seeing previews for this and being stunned at the laughable scenario of an inverted passenger plane. That experience dropped my expectation to essentially zero.

When I watched this film I was surprised in two ways. Firstly, the scenario was more plausible than I had given it credit. Inverted flight is a problem for most planes because of aerodynamics. And while some aircraft are aerodynamically capable of inverted flight (even some passenger planes) it is additionally a problem because hydraulic and engine oil systems are often gravity fed. This means that if a plane is able to fly this way, most of them won't fly for long before systems begin to fail. The film did a reasonable job of portraying this as the plane was just barely able to sustain level flight with a full pitch down elevator position and displayed low engine oil press warnings which led to engine fire. I suspect the roll maneuver would require more altitude than the film suggests...but otherwise it's not far from what could happen in reality if this was actually attempted. Most engine fire T-handles are designed to instantly shut fuel and bleed air valves for an engine...which doesn't seem to happen here, but that was my biggest realism gripe.

My second surprise is that this movie has very little to do with aviation. Aviation seems to be the setting for the story, but the subject itself is substance abuse. The story could have just as easily been set around a bus driver or a ship captain. Given the fact that aviation was merely a setting for the story I have to give credit to the film makers for paying at least some attention to realism.

I thought the story was fascinating. It's the sort of film that requires something of the viewer. You can't watch this without making moral judgements and that process requires each viewer to evaluate how they feel about certain subjects. The story creates just enough moral dilemma to get people thinking and any story that can succeed in that gets a pass from me.

"Flight" hinges on one question, but before I get to the question we have to set the stage.

Captain William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington), a commercial pilot, spent a night of boozing, snorting, and sex with a flight attendant. The next morning he had a flight out of Florida to Atlanta with a manifest of 102 persons. The weather was extremely rough upon take off, but not enough to ground the flight. Whip deftly maneuvered through the storm then the flight was relatively smooth after that, so Whip slept. Somewhere over Georgia the plane experienced mechanical problems and went into a nose dive. With the utmost calmness Whip pulled yet one more set of maneuvers to land the plane with minimal loss of life. Six people did die, but it could've been so much worse.

Whip's lawyer, Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle), did some maneuvering of his own and had Whip's toxicology report suppressed. The NTSB, after an extensive investigation, found that Whip performed outstandingly. They attempted with simulators to have other experienced pilots land Flight 227 and they all failed. Whip was a hero. So then, here's the question:

Was Captain Whitaker's inebriated state a matter of importance with him flying that day?

Whip was an incorrigible drunk, but a functional one after a few lines of cocaine. His problem ruined his marriage, his relationship with his son, and was threatening his freedom. It was an unshakable factor throughout the movie and one that would cause you to shake your head in pity as well as embarrassment for him.

What makes "Flight" a good movie is the question I posed because how many people in society are functioning addicts or alcoholics? I just watched "Puncture" with Chris Evans who played an addict lawyer who was superb at his job as long as he was high. Such people exist.

Flight was a top tier production with awesome performances from the likes of Denzel (naturally), John Goodman, Don Cheadle, and Bruce Greenwood. The production and acting helped make the movie standout, but the plot itself and the central question it poses makes it what it is.

Flight (2012)

**** (out of 4)

Denzel Washington turns in one of the strongest performances of his career playing Walt Whitaker, a pilot who becomes an overnight hero after he saves the majority of the passengers on a doomed plane. Soon after becoming a hero Walt starts to get questioned on whether or not he was up all night partying and in fact was flying the plane drunk and soon he's forced to face himself and the events. Robert Zemeckis has certainly delivered a very entertaining, honest and depressing look at a man who seems to be good at just about everything except being honest with himself. Going into the picture I really wasn't sure what to expect but the film turned out to be great from start to finish and it's certainly one of the more honest looks at an alcoholic to come along in a while. The screenplay by John Gatins is extremely well-written and I think it deserves a lot of credit because I really appreciated the way we get to know this character. Because it's Denzel you're automatically going to want him to do good but the challenging aspects of the screenplay are so well handled by the actor and director that you really do feel like you're getting a complete character study. Zemeckis adds in some great song selections, the cinematography is top notch and there's no question that the film contains some excellent and tense drama. The Q&S session is perfectly handled and the crash sequence is one of the most chilling I've ever seen. Washington is excellent in the role of the troubled pilot as he contains that charm we all love but it also gives the actor a chance to give a full performance. He's so great at everything he does I think he often doesn't get the chance to do a role as complete as this one but he proves why he's one of the best out there. John Goodman, Don Cheadle and Kelly Reilly are all great in their supporting roles as well. You've also got to give everyone credit for not watering down the material and going for a safe and clean PG-13 rating. While there's nothing overly offensive here, the R-rating does allow for an honest and open look at this very flawed character. FLIGHT is certainly one of the years best films.