Flight - 18th June 2013

Tonight, Tuesday Night is Film Night hops genres again to try out a drama, but will we be flying high, or facing a crash landing, as we watch;

Flight

Released in the UK in February 2013 (a recent film by TNiFN's normal standards), Flight is a thought provoking drama, weighing in at a hefty, but extremely watchable 138 minutes.

It tracks the events before, during and after a domestic flight from Orlando to Atlanta, crashes. Although, due to the heroic bravery and skill shown by the pilot, only 6 people died from the 102 people on board. However, there is a twist.

Denzel Washington stars as William "Whip" Whitaker, a skilled pilot of many years, who now flies for South Jet Airlines, a small domestic airline. Unfortunately, Whip is partial to a drink or two and the occasional line of cocaine. He spends the night before his flight to Atlanta, with an air stewardess; Trina Marquez. (Played by Nadine Velazquez). They don't get much sleep and there is drinking and drug taking going on. And whilst still intoxicated, Whip goes off, with Trina, on the flight to Atlanta.

Whitaker hides his intoxication fairly well and the flight gets off on time, but immediately hits turbulence on it's ascent. Whitaker and his slightly nervous co-pilot; Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty) manage to ride out the heavy storm and they hit some still air, but the plane is clearly damaged and as the flight continues, further damage occurs and..........

...... at this point I will stop the description of how the aeroplane ends up crashed, but landed in a field. This part of the film employs some brilliant special effects and the actions of Whitaker, to get the plane down, are best viewed rather than described. And this section is key to the rest of the film.

So, with a crashed plane and the vast majority of the passengers surviving, Whip Whitaker should be a hero and the media certainly builds him to be that way, but as there is a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, Whitaker is reluctant to be in the media spotlight and he knows full well that his intoxication, will have a great bearing on the outcome of the investigation.

After a brief spell in hospital, he hides out at his Father's old farm, lying low and attempting to avoid drinking. However, after a chance meeting in the hospital, with a recovering heroin addict; Nicole (played by Kelly Reilly), he starts to fall off the wagon. And all the while, the lawyer that is representing Whitaker is trying to ensure that any damning toxicology evidence is quashed and inadmissible at the Federal hearing discussing the outcomes of the NTSB investigation.

Flight is a fantastic story, but it's not just about a plane crash, it's not just about heroic flying, it's not just about the perils of alcohol and drug usage in excess. It's about the realisation of addiction. It's about the consequences of addiction. It's about the relationships of addicts. It's about the relationship breakdowns that surround you, with family and friends. It's about the honesty of others, but moreover it's about the honesty of an addict, that moment of realisation when you know that you cannot deny yourself of the truth any longer.

These are the problems that William Whitaker must face. And Denzel Washington plays this part with such grace, realism and gravitas. He brings the character to life on screen, with the assistance of some brilliant direction from Robert Zemeckis. Also the appearance of John Goodman as Whitaker's friend and supplier of drugs adds some fun and levity into what is a sobering story. Great special effects and magnificent soundtrack makes Flight a fantastic movie and a definite one to watch. Oh and look out for a brief cameo appearance by the one and only Piers Morgan, but please don't let this put you off!

All in all Flight is a brilliant movie, thoroughly enjoyed by me (the ladies of the house, not so much), but it still manages to get 7.5 out of 10.