FLIGHT is one of those rare films which entirely focus on only one character throughout and come up with a brilliant portrayal of self assessment and realization in a well written script. It talks about an excitingly new subject featuring a skillful yet reckless pilot, held responsible for a massive crash. In fact after watching the film, I realized that its director Robert Zemeckis has surely achieved a kind of mastery in scripts revolving around a single character after FORREST GUMP, CAST AWAY and now FLIGHT. Interestingly all these three films are there in my ‘Movies To See Before You Die” list now and FLIGHT arguably remains the most important one due to its socially relevant subject related with the public life.
An experienced pilot finds something severely wrong in his plane’s machinery while he is still in air and the aircraft is sure going to crash in just few minutes. With his presence of mind and acquired skills, he crashes the plane into a field and yet manages to save almost all his passengers on board with only 6 unfortunate casualties. The press praises his giant effort loudly but the pilot still has to face an official investigation of the accident which reveals some real dark secrets about his addiction and he decides to take a bold, life changing decision in the end.
Now here this novel & interesting subject is itself convincing enough to force any passionate movie lover to watch FLIGHT on an urgent basis. But in reality the film is much more than just a fresh, entertaining and technically well-made project, as it takes you deep into the psyche of that brave pilot who now finds himself fighting with his inner conscience, sitting in front of the affected families in the court. And the moment he takes that major decisive decision related to his future life, never expected by anyone around even in their wildest dreams, the film becomes a gem, a true gem to be seen as a must. It opens up with a bold nude scene (which sadly restricts it for only adult viewing) and then ends up on a great spiritualistic note, transforming into a precious life teaching cinematic expression, especially for the ones who themselves are walking on the path of self-realization.
Moreover with Denzel Washington playing the lead role of that daring pilot, the film simply becomes a rare treat to watch, particularly in its last 30 minutes, where you just have Denzel’s close ups on the screen facing the investigation board with confidence. And in these well directed sequences, you get to realize that he has once again delivered a career best performance, superbly enacting the strong conflict running within his heart and mind together, which rightly earned him the OSCAR nomination too for the Best Actor in the lead role.
A textbook material on character study, the film deserves to be included in the ‘Curriculum of all Acting Schools’ since here Denzel stunningly displays the art of emoting through his facial expressions alone without taking the support of either tears or laughs. And this powerful board room sequence featuring his master act, really lifts the film to a completely different level all together with a unique kind of revelation in its climax. Besides, it also has two spirited performances from Don Cheadle & John Goodman, who superbly build up the crescendo felt in the end along with Washington.
But more importantly FLIGHT’s concluding sequences readily make us remember all those wrong decisions we tend to make in the weaker moments of our lives and then later cannot find the courage to accept them with their severe consequences. And this is what converts a film on drugs, alcoholism and unprofessional ethics into a SPIRITUAL one eventually. So do watch FLIGHT at the earliest, as it has a lot more to share than just entertainment.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring : Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Nadine Velazquez and more.
Update : The film can now be seen on Amazon Prime Online Portal with English Subtitles for a subscription.
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FLIGHT (2012), Movies To See Before You Die Drama, Must See Movies List by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Not To Be Missed Movies List by Bobby Sing, Worth Watching Movies List at bobbytalkscinema.com
