We need more complex characters like Denzel Washington's Captain Whitaker from Hollywood

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2017)

Flight is an enjoyable film about an esteemed airline pilot struggling to overcome the alcoholism and substance abuse problems that have disrupted his personal and professional life. Although Hollywood has produced a number of films depicting substance abuse and addiction, very few have chosen to portray addicts in the manner that Flight does. Both mental illness and substance abuse are widely recognized as epidemic in America. Despite being so widespread, both are widely misunderstood. Even among health care professionals. This is precisely why Hollywood needs to make more films with complex characters like Pilot William "Whip" Whitaker in Flight.
Captain Whitaker, played by Denzel Washington, brings back the magic of other "loose cannon" authority figure roles from Washington's distinguished career. At this point in Washington's career, nobody can deny the man's acting credentials. However, Washington's role in Flight resembles some of Washington's other iconic roles such as Officer Alonzo Harris in Training Day and Frank Lucas from American Gangster. This alone makes the film worthwhile to watch. However, like many films, Flight sacrifices realism for entertainment. But this sacrifice pays off as the film develops into an emotionally- involving tale of redemption. At the beginning of the film, Washington's character pilots a commercial passenger jet upside down for an evasive maneuver after turbulence causes the plane's tail to malfunction. Apparently, this is actually possible. The famed Boeing test pilot Alvin M. Johnston once performed a similar barrel roll in a Boeing 367, the predecessor of the modern Boeing 737. But it is probably unlikely that a pilot could fly such a large plane, upside down, for as long as the film made it seem. Then again, Hollywood's job isn't to teach physics.
While Captain Whittaker embarks on the doomed flight that could potentially end his career, nearby a pretty heroin addict named Nicole Maggen played by English actress Kelly Reilly is on the verge of being evicted by her creepy landlord. After getting him to leave, she overdoses and is taken to the nearby hospital that just so happens to be the same hospital that Captain Whitaker is destined to end up in. The two characters eventually meet and share a cigarette in the hallways of the hospital in a touchingly profound scene where they are interrupted by a cancer patient who seems oddly complacent in his own mortality. There is no denying the on-screen chemistry between the broken pilot and the cute redhead from Bankhead. The two deeply flawed characters eventually form a relationship which helps each confront their own flaws. At one point, Captain Whittaker asks Maggen, "And you say you're a masseuse. What kind of a masseuse? ". To her own amusement, she responds, "I've been every kind of masseuse there is".
The biggest thing that Flight does right is its depiction of depression and substance abuse. Neither depression nor substance abuses are always readily visible. Sometimes, extraordinarily talented individuals, such as surgeons, judges, and even airline pilots can struggle with substance abuse and still carry on in their professional lives. This portrayal of substance abuse is a refreshing and brilliant stroke of realism in a film industry that too often portrays addicts as self-destructive stereotypes with clearly visible moral failings. Flight reminds the audience of many important aspects of overcoming an addiction. It is usually not so easy and often takes multiple tries. Quitting cold turkey is impossible until one recognizes that they have a problem. Stressful events, like being told you might be held culpable for the deaths of six people in an airplane crash, can trigger a relapse. Sometimes one has to hit rock bottom, before one recognizes the extent of a problem. Unfortunately for Captain Whitaker, rock bottom is snorting cocaine to get sober from a night of heavy drinking right before a hearing before a federal agency.
The film's ending felt a little sudden and abrupt. Even the male lead tells the audience as much. "That was it. I was finished. I was done. It was as if I had reached my lifelong limit of lies. I could not tell one more lie. And maybe I'm a sucker. 'Cause if I had told just one more lie, I could have walked away from all that mess. Kept my wings, kept my false sense of pride...My chances of ever flying again are slim to none. And I accept that. I wrote letters to each of the families that had lost loved ones. Some of them were able to hear my apology. Some of them never will...But at least I am sober. And I thank god for that. I'm grateful for that. And this is going to sound real stupid coming from a guy who is locked up in prison but, for the first time in my life, I am free". The final line of the film is equally thought-provoking. As the lead's estranged son visits his father in prison to interview him for a college application, he coyly asks Whitaker, "Who are you?". Surprised by how difficult it is answer such a simple question, Washington's character responds, "That's a good question"; a good question indeed.