Portrait of addiction

Rating: 6/10 (12 February 2013)

I particularly loved two of the performances: Kelly Reilly (Nicole) and Tamara Tunie (Margaret). My favorite scene in the movie was when Whip (Denzel Washington) is asking Margaret to lie for him at the hearing. Her intelligence and her heartbreak at his request is truly great acting.
I had mixed feelings about Denzel Washington's performance. There were several scenes that just didn't work for me, but other scenes soared. Why was he paired with two much younger women in this movie? Tamara Tunie is closer to his age and is such a great actress, why not pair him with someone of her stature and age? I found myself really disliking all of the drug-taking scenes. However, Nicole's recovery was well developed.
The two scenes of turbulence on the plane were really tense and well-directed scenes. My biggest complaint about this movie is it's length: 2 hours and 18 minutes. I think 20 minutes could have been cut (all of John Goodman's role would be fine by me, and a few of the scenes at the farm went on too long).
I loved the ending. Telling the truth is so rare in movies today. Showing that cover-ups sometimes don't happen and justice can be served - it made me think about today's politics of justifications and cover-ups for heinous crimes against humanity. I was so glad he confessed and he had some consequences for his actions. I would not want to be flying on a plane with someone who was drunk and/or high on drugs! That's the real reason he goes to prison, not the plane crash, at least in my mind. He's finally free. Sweet ending. His son asks him "who are you?" and he says "that's a great question". It's the question we all have to ask ourselves.