Flight: A Brief Discussion of a Great Movie

This past weekend, I saw "Flight" starring Denzel Washington as an alcoholic pilot.  I thought the movie would be good, but it exceeded my expectations.  Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman and a host of other great actors star in the movie.  Denzel played Whip Whitaker, an alcoholic pilot.  Don Cheadle played Hugh Lang, Whip's attorney.  John Goodman played Harling Mays, Whip's drug dealer and good friend.  As an aside, Don Cheadle is one of the most gifted actors in Hollywood.  But, he does not receive the acclaim that he should for his great talents. 

The movie has a compelling story line.  It covers heavy topics including alcoholsim, drug dependency, denial, and absent parents.  Denzel's role as Whip Whitaker is one of the darker roles I have seen him play.  Whip was a gifted, but troubled, alcoholic and somehat drug dependant airplane pilot.  He piloted a flight that was doomed from the start due to mechanical error.  Becuase of his skill, however, 96 of the 102 passengers survived the crash.  But, of course, an investigation into the cause of crash ensued. 

The head investigator discovered that Whip had traces of drugs and alcohol in his blood stream at the time of the accident.  That finding set the stage for multiple battles.  There was the internal battle Whip had with himself.  Was he going to admit that he had been drinking and ingesting drugs?  Would he finally admit that he was an alcoholic who needed help?  There were also legal questions that needed to be answered and battles that needed to be fought.  Any time there is a crash of an airplane, people want to point the proverbial finger at somebody.  The insurance companies want to limit or eliminate exposure.  The plane manufacturer wants to blame the pilot for improper handling of the aircraft, which would absolve it of liability.  The airplane company wants to blame the crash on faulty parts and point the finger at the manufacturer.  The families of the victims want answers and could bring actions both civilly and criminally against a host of parties.  You will have to watch the movie to see how it all plays out.

"Flight" is definitely one of the best movies I have seen all year.  I would not be at all surprised if Denzel wins, or at least, receives an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Check it out.

Peace