Flight
2012 · Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Original language: English
- drama
The story
Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.
What it’s like
Cool, grey-blue daylight gives way to sickly fluorescent hospital corridors and the warm amber of motel rooms and bars, with Robert Zemeckis holding wide, steady frames that let the tension sit in the empty space around his actors. The storm and crash sequence is handheld and immersive, rattling and roaring, then the film settles into long, quiet takes of rooms where someone is trying not to drink. The soundtrack is sparse, with the hum of institutional spaces, clinking glasses and a restrained piano score that rarely swells. Its vibe is weary, morally tense and hungover, the sort of drama to watch late at night or on a slow weekend when you want something serious and unflinching. Scenes of drinking, drug use and an unsparing portrait of addiction are frequent, and the crash is intense and bloody, with brief but harrowing injury and death; there is strong, frequent profanity and some sexual content. Pacing is measured, and the emotional arc follows a charismatic, self-destructive man forced to face what he has been hiding. For viewers who want a tense character study about denial, consequence and redemption rather than escapism.
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