FLIGHT

Flight (2012)
Grade: B-
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Brian Geraghty and Melissa Leo
Premise: An airline pilot whose plane is in freefall manages to maneuver a crash landing that saves most of the passengers and crew on board. Called a hero and a genius, the surviving pilot is nonetheless snakebitten by accusations that his flagrant alcohol use contributed to the crash.

Rated R for Language (including some frank sexual dialogue), graphic depictions of drug and alcohol use and addiction, an intense plane crash sequence, and a scene of graphic nudity

It's the first week of November, which means more and more movies will be hitting theaters that have their eyes on the prestigious little golden statuette by the name of Oscar, and already, on the 2nd, here is a tasty early course that is all but guaranteed at least one nomination. That film is Flight, a fictional drama that has the sometimes-nightmarish feel of a true story, directed by Forrest Gump's Robert Zemeckis and featuring as its lead one Denzel Washington, a two-time Academy Award-winner who here has his deepest, best role in years. It's not a perfect movie, but the actor makes it memorable. While Flight is kicked off, and anchored by, an airline jet journey that ends badly, it really focuses on the tempting but increasingly-ugly escape hatches of denial, pleasure, lies and addiction. It's a film many will relate to, and many more will need to learn from.

Plot:
While William "Whip" Whitaker's (Denzel Washington) life has its ugly spots, it's difficult to say he's just barely surviving. He's a military veteran employed in the lucrative mission of flying passenger planes all over the world, and he can easily delve into those things he truly enjoys, such as alcohol, cocaine, and nighttime romps with beautiful airline employees like stewardess Katerina Marquez (Nadia Velazquez). After a night (and morning) of enjoying all three, Whip is scheduled to fly a lazy mid-morning route from Orlando to Atlanta. Sure he has a stranger (Brian Geraghty) for a co-pilot and there are some looming storm clouds, but Whip knows this business. He's even able to spike his orange juice and coffee with vodka bottles from the airliner's drink cart.

However, he has just barely reached clear blue sky through a heap of turbulence-causing stormclouds when his plane randomly plunges downward, hurtling toward a quiet suburban neighborhood. While passengers scream and pray and his co-pilot panics, Whip leads the plane into a risky maneuver that manages to get it to the ground largely in one piece. Casualties are minimal, though the rough landing does result in a few deaths. However, the general consensus among the relieved public and early federal aviation investigators is that Whip is a hero; his quick-thinking and know-how saved 96 of a possible 102 people. But a toxicology report done before he wakes in the hospital reveals the copious amounts of alcohol and cocaine in his system, and the bottles of vodka he used on his in-flight drink are found--a problem, seeing as he suspended the dispersion of beverages on board the plane due to the early flight turbulence. When lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) brings these grievances to light, Whip panics, and, having previously dumped away all his alcohol in a fit of grief and fright, begins drinking again. He sees his coke dealer (John Goodman) again. He brings a fellow junkie (Kelly Reilly) he met in the hospital into his secluded farm hideout. But he can't escape the press. He can't escape the lawyer. He can't escape an upcoming televised hearing about the events that led to the plane crash. And, of course, he can't escape himself, and his reliance on drink to save him from the pain of his past and present.

What Works?
For a long movie, Flight cruises along pretty well, depicting with ease the difficulty someone would experience in being hailed a hero while he (and others) recognize his obvious flaws. Washington is tremendous in the role. The tortured, in-excess Whip is his juiciest role in years, and, for an actor who's been accused more and more of doing the same-old, same-old, or having nothing new in his arsenal, this goes a long way. While the charisma and screen presence I mentioned in my recent review of Washington's Safe House are in evidence, this is the first time in a while I can remember seeing Washington play a character who can seem small and huddled. You can see fear and doubt in his eyes. Though the actor has played villains before (like in Training Day) he's almost always had a sense of nobility and courage about him. That almost-regal essence is almost gone here, where the words that would more accurately describe Whip are weak, pathetic, pitiful, even repulsive. Washington pulls out the stops in a performance that can be flat-out unlikeable--he covers his insecurities with explicit tirades and hair-raising insults, he lies and cheats and begs and pleads, and, like so many addled by addictions and insecurities, he only needs the slightest opportunity to alienate those closest to him. It's a truly awesome tour-de-force.
While Washington (probably in line for his sixth career Academy Award nomination and first since winning Best Actor for 2001's Training Day) gets the lion's share of the credit for the film's success, he does have support. Reilly, Cheadle, Greenwood, Brian Geraghty and Tamara Tunie all contribute ably as people touched in different ways by Whip, be they good, bad, or ugly. Tunie has a particularly-good moment as a flight attendant who's known Whip for eleven years and is aware of his alcoholic tendences; her eyes fill with emotion and sad knowingness as a surprisingly-pitiful Washington pleads with her to feign ignorance. The all-important plane crash is also a suitably gripping, terrifying experience.

What Doesn't Work?
The movie's tone--mostly sobering (pun intended)--is usually interrupted by the appearances of an oddly-quirky John Goodman, who seems to have strolled in from another film. And Reilly's junkie is given a surprising amount of screen-time early on for someone who disappears halfway through the movie. There's also a curious--and rather aggravating--scene in which Geraghty's now-crippled co-pilot and his hyper-religious wife call the plane crash preordained and offer to pray with the troubled Whip. While it may be an attempt to add a new dimension to Whip's story and ordeal, it's so short and brief it feels a little more like a half-baked attempt to show a bit of scorn toward people who would label such a disastrous event as "an act of God". In any case, some of the "praise Jesus" dialogue felt a little farcicial, and why cut away right as Geraghty begins praying with Whip after setting it up in such a serious manner?

At two-and-a-quarter hours, Flight does drag in places, and a sentimental U-turn late in the running, while redeeming Washington's character and, possibly, the audience's mood upon leaving, seems a little unnecessary.

Content: Flight is very rated R, from two early (and unnecessary) scenes of graphic nudity and graphic sex-related dialogue to repeated scenes of Washington, Reilly, Goodman and others snorting coke. All these scenes felt in-excess; while it helps non-drug users understand the addiction to show the scene once, why so many times? And why, in one late scene, almost as a comic relief? There's also a fair amount of four-letter words and a few bloody images during and after the plane crash, but the majority of the drama is accomplished through what Flight conveys about addiction and personal demons.

Bottom Line (I Promise): Flight isn't a must-see unless you're a huge Denzel Washington fan, but it does have a lot to say about the demons of addiction, lies, and denial.

Flight (2012)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Written by John Gatins
Rated R
Length: 138 minutes