Flightplan
comes on the heals of another airline thriller, the simplistic but marginally
entertaining Red Eye. But whereas Wes Craven’s film is simplistic, this particular
movie goes for a larger helping of complexity and the end result is a mixed bag
- held together mostly in a stunning turn by an extremely effective Jodie Foster.
As
Flightplan opens, we are introduced to a grief stricken airline engineer by the
name of Kyle (Jodie Foster). She is recently widowed and at a virtual loss as
to what her next move might be. After careful consideration, she decides to move
her young daughter from Berlin to America. Upon boarding the massive jet liner
that will take she and her little one to their new home, Kyle is completely unaware
of the nightmare that awaits her. As Kyle’s flight reaches it’s full
altitude, so does her nerves, when she discovers that her daughter has mysteriously
vanished. Panic stricken and at a loss for words, Kyle’s situation worsens
when an air Marshall and several other employees on board the aircraft drop a
major mental blow; they claim that Kyle’s daughter is in fact deceased and
that Kyle has suffered a severe psychotic break. As the film progresses, we the
audience must decide for ourselves whether or not Kyle’s daughter has been
kidnapped or if Foster is flying with an empty cockpit.
Flightplan
is a hard film to discuss. I can’t exactly divulge what really bothered me
about the picture, or I’ll ruin it’s secrets. So I suppose instead,
I’ll talk about what I really liked in the film. First and foremost, the
highest of praise must be bestowed upon Jodie Foster who turns in a truly sensational
performance. This veteran actress exudes an empathy that reminded me of Harrison
Ford in The Fugitive. This is to say that the entire film sort of rests on her
shoulders. She is so good playing the vulnerability factor, that it’s almost
possible to forgive the movie for it’s numerous flaws. Almost.
The
production values here are top notch. Cinematographer Florian Ballhaus’ stunningly
camera work captures the claustrophobic trappings that befall Foster’s Kyle
for nearly the entire running time of the movie. This expert cinematographer allows
his camera to glide effortlessly through the narrow aisles of the plane, and not
once does this picture feel like it’s being shot on a sound stage. This feels
like the real deal.
Robert
Schwentke’s direction is sure handed and, in many ways, owes quite a bit
to one Alfred Hitchcock. The movie is tense and lean, and unlike Joseph Ruben’s
Forgotten – a picture that this one is drawing comparisons to – it offers
a tangible explanation as to what the hell is going on. So without giving too
much away, I will let it be known that Flightplan doesn’t turn into some
half baked, sci-fi, second rate X-Files knock off. We do find out exactly what’s
going on and, to a certain extent, it does make sense.
Sadly
though, the screenplay doesn’t do any of these characters justice, and Foster
can only carry the proceedings so far. There are red herrings dropped throughout
the picture hinting where the story is headed, and when we find out what exactly
is going on, it’s sensible enough, but it isn’t terribly interesting.
And when the true nature of the plot is revealed, the holes in the plot really
start to widen. This is to say nothing of the truly embarrassing moments scattered
throughout the film none more so than a ridiculous sequence in which air marshal
Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) returns Kyle to her seat in handcuffs. At this particular
point in the picture, Kyle has put the passengers through a hectic ordeal with
her aggressive outbursts, so as the marshal escorts the woman back to her seat,
the passengers begin to clap and cheer with approval. What a stupid, stupid scene.
Not believable at all. The film also plays heavily on our post 9/11 paranoia.
This is made abundantly clear when Kyle points her finger at a couple of middle
eastern passengers and blames them for the apparent disappearance of her daughter.
I suppose this is a valid scenario, as many Americans are on edge, but as played
in this movie, it comes across as very heavy handed. Flightplan could have taken
a major cue for similar issues raised in Paul Haggis’ exhilarating Crash.
After
all is said and done, Jodie Foster nearly pulls the entire project off on her
own. She is so good here as a woman trying to prove to everyone around her that
she’s not crazy. Of course, the question remains, is she crazy? I’ll
be damned if I’m going to reveal that here. I will say though, that Flightplan
bites off a little more than it can chew - in terms of plausibility it just doesn’t
fly
