Washington nails the part of an addict spiraling out of control

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2018)

Denzel Washington gives an Oscar-nominated performance as Whit Whitaker in this dramatic thriller. The old adage that driving and drinking don't mix applies even more to flying and drinking - and drugs. Strict federal rules prohibit pilots from drinking alcohol within eight hours of flying. And, their blood alcohol can't be higher than 0.04%. That's half the legal limit for vehicle drivers on roads in the U.S.
"Flight" is a film with two stories in one. The first and shorter tale is of an airline pilot who becomes a hero by landing a malfunctioning plane and saving the lives of all but six of the 108 people on board. Indeed, all consider it a miraculous event that no other pilot was able to do in 10 simulated tests of the same airborne crisis.
The second is the longer story and is about the life of the pilot, Whip Whitaker. He leads a precarious life. He is divorced, drinks heavily, uses drugs, and has sexual relations with a stewardess about whom he knows and cares very little. He is one angry dude, living an ever increasingly dysfunctional life, and slipping further a further into alcoholism and drug addiction.
As the two stories come together, Whitaker exhibits more and more the traits of an alcoholic. The drinking habits of alcoholics differ widely, but many characteristics of drunks are uniform and common. I'm a recovering alcoholic myself, and know the symptoms, behaviors and effects very well. The biggest and most obvious is lying. A drunk will tell lie after lie after lie. And, of course, deny that he or she has a problem. All the time, of course, the problem grows into more and bigger problems. Active drunks and addicts can't relate civilly or socially. They have short fuses and erupt at the smallest things. Many wallow in self-pity. "Why is everyone against me?" becomes a constant lament. Everyone else is wrong, never me.
Denzel Washington plays his part superbly. The only common trait that he doesn't show is paranoia. Instead, his alcoholism is self-delusional to the point of believing that he can drink and shoot up and no one will know the difference. People won't know he's high or drunk. When he confronts the chief stewardess, Margaret Thomason, he says, "You know me." He assumes that she knows him for his flying ability at the helm of an airplane. He wants her to attest that he was sober. But she says, "It's a lie." She did know him, and knew well that he frequently drank before flights. Whitaker was delusional in thinking that all those who worked around him couldn't tell or didn't know that he had a drinking problem.
The movie doesn't come to a full conclusion regarding the plane crash. The audience is left to surmise that the airline and/or plane manufacturer were found at fault for the crash, due to the mechanical failures. Instead, Whitaker's admission of his drinking problem in the investigation by the National Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA), leads to a quick ending where he is imprisoned for his drinking and drug violations. And, Whitaker finds freedom in losing so much, by finding sobriety with the help of others who are also recovering drunks and addicts.
This would be a good film for young and old to see and understand the devastation that substance abuse brings on lives and families. But, the use of explicit full female nudity in the beginning makes this film suitable only for very mature adults.
The script has an occasional line with wry humor. This seems to be a common aspect of the roles that Denzel Washington plays in many films. Here's my favorite example from "Flight." Attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) drives up to Whitaker's farm. As he gets out of his car, Whitaker comes out on the porch with a shotgun. Lang says, "You gonna shoot me? Can and I come inside?" Whitaker answers, "Yeah, c'mon inside. I'll shoot ya inside."