Director: Robert Zemeckis
Star: Denzel Washington
Plot Outline: Whip Whitaker (Washington) spends the night before a flight getting drunk and using cocaine. Said flight seems doomed to crash-land and kill everyone aboard due to equipment malfunctioning, but Whitaker manages to land the plane in a field. This does result in six deaths, but Whitaker is hailed as a hero for averting further loss of life. After the crash, Whitaker is grounded, so he returns to heavy alcohol consumption, jeopardizing efforts to save his reputation as details of his pre-flight carousing emerge.
Overall impression: This is the best performance I've ever seen from Washington. It is utterly maddening to see Washington play someone who spins so far out of control, having seen him be so in control in films such as Remember The Titans and Crimson Tide. His character makes bad decision after bad decision, and his steadfast denial that he has a problem leads to some heartbreaking scenes. Flight isn't a perfect film- I would have liked to have seen the film played entirely seriously, (especially late in the film with so much riding on the outcome), and the film uses some cliche movie songs ("Feelin Alright), but Washington's performance really does carry the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment