“Whip” Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is a drunk, coke addict and an airline pilot. Not a very appealing combination, is it? But a mechanical failure, such as the one that strikes Whip's latest flight, isn't appealing either. Through some fancy maneuvering, Whip gets the plane to crash land and save almost all on-board.
Upon waking up from a coma, Whip is hailed as a hero by the press. But that'll end once they realize that Whip flew the plane high and drunk. His lawyer, Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) and Union representative Charlie (Bruce Greenwood), are ready to protect his clean image. Even then, that won't clean Whip's conscience, which is what he has to do himself.
As Whip, Denzel Washington's performance is what the film's all about. He's a fallen hero, one who's actually already fallen before becoming a hero. All it takes is the crash for him to see how mighty he's fallen; after that, he's lost. Washington never makes the audience lose sympathy for Whip, even when Whip lashes out at loved ones. For that reason, we the audience want to see Whip turn his life around and keep flying, so to speak.
Amongst the supporting cast, the best work came from John Goodman, as Whip's supplier, Harling, and Kelly Reilly, as Whip's love interest, Nicole. Goodman, in particular, continues to be a reliably hilarious character actor. Reilly's compelling performance, meanwhile, should give Oscar voters another option to consider this year.
And yes, there is the plane crash that starts the film. With some great editing and visual effects, the crash is one of the scariest ones on screen. It certainly doesn't help anyone's fear of flying, especially my own, to see the turbulence take its toll on the plane and its inhabitants.
Even when it does lag on towards its 139 minute runtime, Flight keeps things going thanks to its star. Unless you have a flight in the near future, then this character study is worth checking into.
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