Flight (A–)

Starring Denzel Washington, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, and Melissa Leo.
Screenplay by John Gatins.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Rated R for frequent explicit language, heavy reckless alcohol use, detailed drug abuse, and a scene of nudity.

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This is the first live-action film Zemeckis has directed since "Cast Away" in 2000. Like that film, it has a huge, edge-of-your-seat plane crash scene then becomes a two-hour character study. The trailer makes you think it's either an action-packed rage-against-the-system flick or a courtroom drama. It's neither, although it has elements of those. It's really more like "Lost Weekend" or "Clean and Sober."

The airplane is a metaphor for its pilot, William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington), a functional alcoholic who is privately crashing during a time when he is publicly flying high as a national hero. Whip coolly and inventively landed the defective airliner, saving most of the 102 souls aboard. But it's discovered that he was legally drunk when the accident occured. Can he come out of his nose-dive before he loses the one soul aboard his personal flight?

Washington's tremendous skill and intense humanity keep you invested in Whip but it's not easy. Whip - as addicts often do - gets increasingly repugnant as the story progresses and the movie dares you to keep caring about him no matter how bad he gets. Kelly Reilly (Dr. Watson's wife in the current Sherlock Holmes movies) also does a terrific, natural job here as a fellow addict/love interest who wants to get sober.

The film poses many questions about God's role in tragedy and accidents, his help in self-control, the efficacy of prayer, and predestination. Christian symbols appear throughout the film. Some of the questions are taken very seriously, some not.

It also keeps you in a very tense, emotional Catch-22 between definitely wanting Whip to be absolved for this particular crash, for which he was not responsible and in which he acted heroically, and definitely wanting to see him be held accountable for his long history of flying drunk.

Some conservative viewers may admire the film's message but may not be able to sit through its very graphic and realistic content.

Final Grade: A–