Flight2012

Zemeckis-fest 2:38AM OK, so now that Rob’s got that motion capture thing out of his system, we can get back to making real movies. I kid. But it does feel like we are picking the thread back up from where we left it with Cast Away and Contact and such. Stories about normal people in difficult situations.  This is a movie about an alcoholic. He also happens to be an airline pilot and managed to save a majority of the lives on board by landing the plane during an impossible situation that nobody should have walked away from. So the majority of the film is about his substance abuse issues as he avoids the press and deals with his own problems while he waits for the hearing to decide what is responsible for the crash. Now, the fact of the matter is that the pilot (Whip) was three sheets to the wind coming off a four-day bender as he sat behind the wheel of that plane. BUT he still was able to perform a miraculous landing that literally no one else could have done. Now, the latter doesn’t justify the former, but it does explain how one could rationalize it to themselves.  We watch Whip’s issues and how they impact his relationships with everyone around him. And his addiction seems to get worse and worse the more people around him rely on him. It’s tragic, and I’m sure people can relate to it in one way or another. Now, I don’t personally really know anyone with substance abuse issues, but that doesn’t keep me from empathizing. And I think this works as a decent PSA on alcoholism.  It is definitely preachy but enjoyable with some really impactful moments. There is a scene the night before his hearing, and it feels like a horror movie; it’s really well done.  This definitely doesn’t come near the top of my ranking, but it’s well made, and I can see myself watching it again at some point. Also, shout out to John Goodman, who has a great character in this.  Anyways, still waiting for this Zemeckis guy to fall off. Any film now, I’m sure.