Review of Flight (2012) by Jon W — 01 Aug 2013

"Flight" is a fantastic film, a brilliantly nuanced character study. Denzel Washington gives what is perhaps the best performance of his career as Whip Whitaker, an alcoholic and cocaine-addicted pilot who miraculously lands a plan, only killing 6 on board (2 crew, 4 passengers).

After the incident, he vows sobriety which lasts only briefly until we see his true self. The movie in unflinching in showing the character with all of his flaws and doesn't even ask for our sympathy but gains it by objectively following the character without offering easy answers.

Considered both a "quiet, heroic man" as well as a "drunk cokehead," the movie shows us two sides to every story. While Washington gives a brilliant performance, it should be mentioned that several supporting performances help propel the film forward including Bruce Greenwood as Whip's one and only friend, Don Cheadle as the criminal lawyer in charge of Whitaker's defense, John Goodman as Whitaker's dealer, (one unfairly overlooked performance by) Brian Geharghty as Whitaker's nervous co-pilot on the infamous flight and finally Kelly Reilly as a fellow addict who befriends and loves Whitaker.

The movie offers theories of fate, Divine Intervention, and faith to underline its story with additional meanings, but ultimately it's up to the viewer to decide. We see that Whitaker, although drunk and stoned, was the only pilot able to successfully land the aircraft without the entire population of the plane not living to see tomorrow.

Questions are asked but not quite answered as we see a man struggling with addiction attempting to free himself from it in order to not lose what little he has to begin with. Zemeckis directs the fantastic screenplay brilliantly with one of the scariest but yet controlled sequences I've ever watched early on and still directs the later with the intensity of the early sequence.

This is a movie that you should not miss even if it seems melodramatic and 'typical' of drama in Hollywood. This is a fantastic film that should not be overlooked.