Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances to date!

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2012)

'FLIGHT': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances to date in this dark and disturbing drama about an alcoholic airline pilot who saves nearly a hundred people from dying in a plane crash but then faces possible charges of negligence due to substance abuse. It was directed by none other than Robert Zemeckis (who hasn't directed a live action film in 12 years or an R-rated one in 32 years) and written by John Gatins. It co-stars Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly and John Goodman. The music was scored by Alan Silvestri (who is a constant partner of Zemeckis). The film is intense, frustrating and extremely depressing at times but it's also inspiring in important moments as well. Washington's performance is definitely the highlight of the film.
Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an extremely skilled veteran airline pilot who also has a substance abuse problem. The night before a big flight to Atlanta Whitaker stays up most of the night having sex with a flight attendant from his plane (Nadine Velazquez) and drinking an excessive amount of alcohol. He does a line of cocaine to wake himself up and then has a couple more shots of vodka while in flight. The plane suffers from turbulence upon takeoff and then has a mechanical malfunction towards the end of the flight. Whitaker manages to keep the plane from crashing (through some amazing piloting maneuvers) and saves all but six lives on board. A toxicology screen finds the alcohol and cocaine in his system and an attorney, named Hugh Lang (Cheadle), makes it his mission to keep the blame of the crash off Whitaker. The stress only drives Whitaker into drinking more though as his life spirals out of control. His new romance with a fellow drug addict (Reilly) is the only thing which keeps him sane.
The movie is extremely hard to watch. It really drives home it's message about what it's like to be depressed and suffering from addiction. It's frustrating to watch Whitaker dig a deeper and deeper hole for himself while still rooting for him (despite his shortcomings). It's interesting to see Washington play a somewhat unlikeable and extremely flawed character again and still manage to make the audience care for him so deeply. Zemeckis's directing is once again topnotch, Gatins screenplay is brilliant, the supporting cast is all effective and Silvestri's music works magic once again as well but it's Washington's performance that really makes the movie work. He commands every scene he's in and makes the movie a near perfect dark but thoughtful character study. He definitely deserves all the critical praise and award recognition thrown at him.
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