The trailer for Flight sells the first twenty minutes of the film. The rest of the movie? That would require a different trailer entirely. This is more Leaving Las Vegas than whatever sort of film the marketing team put together, and that's not a bad thing. But while Leaving Las Vegas was an unflinching, extremely dark film about alcoholics and drug addicts, Flight tries to have it's cake and eat it too. Mind you, I'm not comparing the two films, just saying that Flight tries hard at being an edgy drama, somewhat succeeds, and then tries to tack on an overly emotional finale. The result is a stunningly well acted, but overly preachy, drama that's worth seeking out but isn't as great as the sum of its parts.
You can't talk about Flight, however, without first addressing the actual flying scene. Believe the hype: this is one of the most intense scenes of the year, with stunning direction from Robert Zemeckis. It's the sort of scene that I'd love to see deconstructed at some point in the future, so we can figure out how exactly he managed to direct it the way he did. It's an astonishing sequence to behold, and really sets you up for an intense film. Unfortunately, the rest of the film never regains the same momentum.
Now, that's not a bad thing. The rest of the film is entertaining and I certainly was never bored. But, there is no denying that the rest of the film feels significantly different than that sequence. In fact, it feels like a bit of a different film. This is a story about two addicts, pilot Whip (Washington) and photographer Nicole (Kelly Reilly, who is not even featured in the trailers or commercials), and how they deal with their troubling pasts and questionable future. This is where the film starts to come apart at the seams. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but Whip's road to redemption is, obviously, a bumpy one. His troubles along the way are necessary for good drama, yes, but I wouldn't have minded a few less pitfalls along the way. It feels a bit redundant when halfway through the film Whip decides to stop drinking as we know he's going to have to take a drink, for the sake of the plot, at a later time. I also find his relationship with Nicole to be a bit questionable. Their is certainly sexual tension between them and, (minor spoiler) they sleep together shortly after meeting, but are they romantic? Or are they just friends? It's never completely addressed, and due to that we never get a real sense of the stakes at hand. Why is it that Nicole wants Whip to sober up so badly near the end of the film?
The film also has an uneven mixture of "edginess" and hopefulness. What I loved (and, in a way, hated) about Leaving Las Vegas is the way it repeatedly punched the viewers in the gut with the turns in the plot, refusing to sell out at any point and provide an unrealistic happy ending. Flight attempts to provide the same edginess, but never reaches that same point. Sure, we see a surprising amount of nudity, lots of drug use, and some pretty dark scenes depicting Whip's alcoholism, but it's never nearly as dark as we are lead to believe. Then, at the end, the film tries to become optimistic and hopeful, which completely negates the dark tone of the first half. It's uneven and more than a bit clumsy.
Yet, there is a lot to praise about this film. Namely, Denzel Washington. One of the few movie stars we have left in America, Denzel turns in what is most likely his strongest performance as Whip. It's a role that, I feel, deserves an Oscar nomination and all the praise he's been receiving. It's hard to play a drunk- you can be too over-the-top, unintentionally funny, or just not drunk enough. Washington does it all perfectly, making us root for Whip but also feel pity and get angry whenever he takes another drink. Washington is also surrounded by a stellar supporting cast, all of whom give in wonderful performances. John Goodman, Don Chedale, and Tamara Tunie are all fantastic, while relative newcomer Kelly Reily really left me impressed with just how talented she was.
I also enjoyed the way faith was incorporated into the film. Sure, some will say that the film was too preachy. And, in a way, it was. The filmmakers are not exactly subtle about the religious theme in the film. Yet, I totally bought it. Growing up in a very religious home, I sat through many "Christian" films which, frankly, are terrible. Although I now identify as agnostic, it still makes me upset to see the idea of God and religion being saved for such crappy films. Flight may not be subtle about the idea of a "higher power" but I at least respect the fact that they treat religion in a realistic and fairly dark way, and don't just rely on it as a cheesy plot device.
Flight features one of the best performances of the year but it's not one of the best films of the year. I wholly recommend it as a performance piece for Washington and I definitely think it will play differently to each audience member, but it just didn't completely appeal to me. With a tighter script and the decision to either become more dark or less dark, this could have been great. In the end, it's just good.
OVERALL GRADE: B
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