Flight (2012)

The first act of Robert Zemeckis’ addiction drama Flight is so good that it ultimately winds up making the rest of the movie look worse by comparison. Anyone familiar with the film’s marketing campaign will know where the early scenes are ultimately going to take us, but the construction and direction of these sequences—as Zemeckis takes us from the ground, to the air, then back to the ground again—is superb. Flight may be Zemeckis’ first live-action film since 2000’s Cast Away, but his work is so assured here that it feels like he never left. The final two thirds are more standard dramatic fare, and the final few minutes is something of a miscalculation, but this film always has one thing going for it: an extraordinary Denzel Washington performance. There’s plenty to like here across the board, but Flight works best as a reminder of how great an actor Washington is.

Here he plays Whip Whitaker, an alcoholic airline pilot who spends the night before a short flight partying with one of his crewmembers (Nadine Velazquez). When we first see him, he is a complete mess. By the time he puts on his uniform and hops in the cockpit, he is a fully functioning member of society. This particular flight is a short jaunt from Orlando to Atlanta, and at first only seems difficult because of some heavy Floridian storms. He and his copilot Ken (Brian Geraghty) are able to get through that with little more than some flop sweat. This is not true of the descent, however, and when the plane malfunctions Whitaker must find a way to land the plane safely. In order to do this, he has to get creative.

Once our very flawed protagonist hits the ground, a whole bunch of other, more complicated problems are thrown in his lap. After the crash, a large amount of alcohol was found in his system. He now needs a lawyer (Don Cheadle) and his union rep (Bruce Greenwood) to back him up so he doesn’t go to jail, and he has to do his part and not get himself into trouble. He’s an addict, of course, so this isn’t as easy as he thinks it’s going to be. He is able to find some companionship in fellow mess Nicole (Kelly Reilly), but comfort and happiness is something that seems like it will forever elude his grasp.

All you really need to know about Washington’s character is the contrast between how he behaves in the air and how he behaves on the ground. Even when his plane is plummeting to the ground at near-terminal velocity, he is far more under control than he ever is simply walking around his own house. When he was flying, everything was at least forced to revolve around his admittedly messed-up lifestyle. The accident brings everything to a halt, and it winds up taking his addiction into some dark territory. The strange thing is that by this point in his life, he’s used to lying and getting away with everything. This may be more intense than the usual routine, but dodging reality and avoiding the consequences is something he is very much used to by now.

Barring the last few minutes, which unfortunately lays everything out on the table for the audience when it isn’t really necessary, everything about Washington’s performance and character is great. From a filmmaking standpoint, Flight peaks a little too early. As I mentioned before, the first act is just about perfect. After that, the movie realizes there aren’t too many places to go and there are moments when it feels like it’s on (pardon this) autopilot. Just as Washington tries and fails to return to his pre-crash state of blissfull drunkenness, the audience keeps waiting for Flight to deliver another killer sequence like we saw early on. Unfortunately, it never quite comes. The good news is that the movie never devolves as much as it could have, and overall this is as intelligent a drama as you’ll find in theaters right now. It also doesn’t spend too much time wallowing in Washington’s sadness, and whenever it threatens to get too bleak there are characters like John Goodman’s Harling Mays who can come in to pinch-hit.

Though it starts to coast a bit in its back half, Flight is worth the price of admission for Washington’s performance alone. This role is tailor-made for his talents, and it also allows him to flex his acting muscles in ways we haven’t seen for a few years now. There will always be a place for him in thrillers like The Book of Eli, Unstoppable and Safe House, but he does the world of movies a great service when he signs up for a film like Flight. It’s an awesome sight to see him go to work in this film, and should he get any awards recognition for his performance he will have more than earned it. Flight may never venture into uncharted territory, but its considerable pleasures far outweigh any quibbles I may have.

Grade: B+