Everybody knows from the trailers for Flight that this is a movie about a plane crash, so I am not giving anything away with that. The plane that crashes is an MD-80. I fly a lot on American Airlines, and they still have a huge fleet of MD-80 planes. I have spent more time on MD-80s than on any other aircraft model. After seeing this movie, I will be a little more apprehensive about this plane.

The first half hour of this movie includes the phenomenal crash scene. I felt like I was on the plane along for the ride, all the way to the crash. This scene alone is worth the entire movie.

The story is actually not about a plane crash per se. It’s about alcoholism and drug addiction. Denzel Washington plays airline captain Whip Whitaker, a wreck of a man who is desperately trying to hold on to his career through the fog of severe alcoholism. His dependency on drugs and alcohol has already destroyed his marriage and the relationship with his teenage son, and it’s about to destroy his career as a pilot. He survives the plane crash with only minor injuries, and the media views him as a hero for saving most of the passengers and crew through miraculous handling of the plane under stress. Yet as he recovers, Whip bumbles through his life committing one gaffe after the other, dumb-drunk most of his waking hours, barely making it from one stupor to the next. His world is crashing down, and he looks a fool.

While his drunkenness had nothing to do with the aircraft breaking up in mid-air, and his skill as a pilot saved the lives of most of the people on board, he nonetheless is suspected of serious wrongdoing for allegedly flying the aircraft drunk. It is time to face his demons.

Flight is a powerful acting performance by Denzel Washington, and I predict it will win awards. John Goodman also has a minor role that he is refreshingly well cast for as Whip’s drug dealer and “friend.” Don Cheadle plays Whip’s lawyer,
Hugh Lang, in an excellent supporting role.

Flight got my attention from the first frame and didn’t let up. It got me thinking about alcoholism and how terrible a disease it really is and how difficult it is to live with.

Rating: ***