Review of Flight (2012) by Theahsanhaseeb — 23 Dec 2012

Flight may not be liked by many but let me tell you why I like this film. Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances, he is the sole reason why I decided to watch this film in the first place and I don't regret it at all. The direction is satisfying enough to keep the viewers interested in the film i.e. the first 30 minutes of the film show the plane crash which is exceptional, I have never seen something like this before, it was too terrifying and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the sequence. After those 30 minutes, the 2 hour (almost) drama begins which passes by so quickly, you don't even realize (only if you are a fan of slow-paced drama films). And then, finally the ending, which is downright excellent, I pretty much hoped for an ending like this because without it, the film's message would not have been that clear. Washington's character Whip Whitaker finally accepts that he is a free man, he has no more lies to tell, he doesn't feel any burden or he doesn't have to carry all this throughout his remaining life.

Whitaker is an unlikeable person, he is an alcoholic and he can't get enough of the booze and the cocaine but there comes a time when he realizes that lying about it would only make it worse since he's been lying about everything his whole life, not even his wife and his kid like him. Flight has an absolute message for every viewer: the message of acceptance, the message of "stop lying" and start telling what you really feel. What do you really want to say. Despite all these downsides, my sympathies were always with Whitaker because he really saved those people even when he was high and maybe that factor actually played its part by making him think of rolling the plane into an inverted position, who knows?

A character-driven drama film with a phenomenal performance by Washington, strong supporting cast, great screenplay by John Gatins, and a wonderful direction by Robert Zemeckis who previously directed the two important films; an Academy award winning 1994 film Forrest Gump and a 2000 film Cast Away, both of which are excellent. Flight does not offer any action sequences or edgy moments after the plane crash but what it does offer is Washnigton's performance, the clever dialogues, and his characterization and depicts wonderfully how he's changed throughout the film. And it leaves you in a position where it's upto you that how do you want to think of his character, a hero or a criminal? A hero for saving 96 out of 102 people on the plane or a criminal for being so negligent and putting 102 people's lives at risk. You get to change your opinions about observing Whitaker's nature and his character throughout the story because of the things he do, his crazy drug addiction and finally, the decisions he make. This film may not be a strong Best Picture Oscar contender but it easily deserves a Best Actor nod for Washington's powerful performance.