A journey into the soul of an addicted man...

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2013)

Director Robert Zemeckis has enjoyed the lucrative and profitable business of animated films for the past decade or so - making wholesome family films like The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol. The director of Forrest Gump and Cast Away is back where he belongs with Flight, an insightful, mature and thrilling character study.
Flight documents the internal struggle of an addicted man. Denzel Washington gives an incredible and nuanced performance as William "Whip" Whitaker, a pilot who pulls a miraculous stunt in midair, saving the lives of 96 of 102 passengers on a doomed flight from Orlando to Atlanta. Thought of in the media as a hero, Whip's history of drug and alcohol dependency is completely ignored until it's shown through a blood test that he was drunk at the time of the plane crash, blurring the line between hero and criminal.
Zemeckis's last live-action film Cast Away is all about external struggle, beating the odds around you to save your own life. What's interesting about Flight is that it's about a completely internal battle. The actual plane crash lasts for about the first twenty minutes of the film, and from then on, it becomes a cautionary tale about addiction. Whip's problem doesn't stop at drinking too much. He's also addicted to cocaine, which he needs to wake up after a heavy night of drinking. Whip quits drinking and relapses many times throughout the film. He befriends a woman who he meets in the hospital, post crash, who is there because of a heroin overdose. She tries to "save him", but fails multiple times until he's faced with having to save himself.
Washington gives the stellar performance that his fans expect, and for the most part, his performance carries the film. However, some real talent lies in the film's supporting cast. Kelly Reilly plays Nicole, the junkie who Whip finds as a kindred spirit. At first it seems like she's nothing but a bad influence for this character who really needs to get his life together. However, her subtle performance gives an unexpected depth to the character. She's facing her own demons...she's not there just to be a tool in Whip's recovery. John Goodman is here for comic relief as Whip's cocaine dealer, who is a character straight out of The Big Lebowski.
One thing that might drive audiences away from this film is that the lead character is totally unlikable. He treats everyone around him like garbage, including the ex-wife who he doesn't talk to anymore, and the son who he neglects. The audience member knows that these strained relationships were directly caused by his alcoholism. But in the end, the damage he's doing to himself is the most inexcusable.
Washington's antihero reminds me of a similar character in a film I saw last year, Young Adult. Charlize Theron's character Mavis Gary is a writer of young adult fiction who hasn't grown up mentally at all since high school. Drinking heavy amounts of vodka and whisky just to get through the day, Mavis doesn't admit her addiction to anyone, not even herself. She ignores this as her big problem. Whip's story is a lot like this. However, the viewer doesn't have to be an alcoholic or a junkie for this story to resonate. Films like this illuminate the mental part of addiction, which I truly find fascinating. Its ending is a little too "happily ever after" for my taste, but it leaves a hopeful message. It also reminds me that a lead character doesn't have to be likable to be interesting. It's an old-fashioned melodrama, and it's all the better for that. The film's quality and resonance is what inevitably soars.
Grade: A