[rating:4/5]
The Trustee’s Theatre went black and “Flight” unveiled the out of control life of Whip Whitaker (played by Denzel Washington). With each decision to hit the bottle, or snort a line of coke, we are right there with him. We departed Savannah and soared through a thrilling ride packed full of specific, realistic details — a flight that is actually worth paying for.
When we first find our soon to be hero, he wakes up in a place he knows all too well: a trashed airport hotel room. The scene is packed with strong, but small glimpses that uncover the habits of our pilot. Empty beer and liquor bottles cover the tops of tables and chests. Bumps of coke wait in lines to be snorted. A small joint is lit between the fingers of a lovely naked woman in the room, Katerina (played by Nadine Velazquez).
Add the phone call from his ex-wife and the mentioning of a son and the film’s focus is set. His life is out of control and is headed in a downward spiral, which always leads to an inevitable crash.
We know that Whip has a drinking problem, abuses drugs and has a family that he isn’t there for. All he has going for him is that he can fly planes and land beautiful flight attendants like the sexy Katerina. And even better, she happens to be on the same plane that Whip is flying.
We depart for Atlanta in an intense storm, but Whip thinks quickly and increases the speed and flies the plane off course. The plan works and he celebrates with a strong screwdriver and bumps of coke, all topped off with a catnap. It is easy to overplay the character in a role like this, but Washington captures Whip to the exact extent the film needed. He brings life to a sincere and troubled man, a man who has lost site of what truly is important to him.
Turbulence shakes Whip awake, buttons flash and little sirens scream. Within a matter of seconds, the plane dives out of control. Unlikely to survive, the drug-induced pilot executes a unique plan in order to save the flight.
He barrel rolls the entire plane upside down to decrease speed and glide into a field by a small Baptist church. The scene is loud, full of movement, and each shot captures the intensity of falling out of the sky.
The ride was bumpy, but Whip wakes up in a hospital room with only a concussion and a hurt knee. He quickly learns about the deaths of six passengers and his new title of hero.
With an early checkout, he goes to the seclusion of his father’s farm. The house is loaded with alcohol, but Whip takes care of it. He throws out cases of beer, bottles upon bottles of booze, pain pills and even some weed. It seems that the crash was the right motivation to get his life back on track. But that thought dies fast with just a phone call.
Whip is informed that the incident was caused because of a “flying error”, but he isn’t off the hook. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found traces of illegal substances in his blood the day of the crash. He is also told that he had a blood alcohol level of 2.4 percent and that he might be charged with four accounts of manslaughter. The pendulum has swung the spiral downward back into motion.
We watch the man crumble as he chugs a handle of vodka. His drinking binges grow worse and more extreme until Whip loses control. His decisions become worse and worse and the audience experience them first-hand. This flight will shake you up. So be sure to buckle up for the intense ride through the life of Whip Whitaker: an alcoholic, a pilot and a hero.
