Flight

If the thought of returning to work soon, after a remarkably long and needed break isn’t scary enough; if the thought of returning to work and your job happens to be a flight attendant isn’t scary enough then certainly watching the opening scene of ‘Flight’ starring Denzel Washington as pilot of your next flight, is enough to send your nerves in a tizzy!

Written by John Gatins and directed by Robert Zemeckis this 2012 film opened quite joltingly! I’d heard good reviews and not so good reviews but here I was experiencing it on my own accord and it was better than I had expected. This film wasn’t just about a pilot and it wasn’t just about a plane malfunctioning; its content was sensationally heavier. Who is the most fascinating person you ‘never’ met? It’s about realizing your faults and the people you’ve hurt. About accepting them, and making a change for the better even if it means being found out and risking losing it all.

With a $31 million USD budget it’s easy to see why the special effects and cinematography were first-rate but it’s the script/dialogue and monologue pieces that I loved most. The scene in the stairwell with the gaunt young cancer patient played by James Badge Dale whom you may remember from ‘The Departed’, ‘Shame’ and ‘Grey’; his performance was startlingly deep and touching and in my opinion certainly supportive-actor nomination worthy.

Oscar-winner Denzel plays the deportment of egotistical and confident pilot well, and the audience feels for him as they follow him in his ups and downs and internal troubles as they unfold. Whether you fly, work in the aviation industry or have never set foot on a plane, this film speaks to us all, as it shows the dangers involved with abuse of substances and learning how to live in moderation and shifting from a worried, anxious being to a free and clear mind. J