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Back Shelf Beauties
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Flightplan You don't have to be a professional to figure out how to judge this movie. The premise sounds great, but it's the ending that will determine if you like Flightplan. Will they go for the really cool ending that makes me tell all of my friends to see it? The stupid ending that will drive me from the theater asking for my money back? How about the middle of the road ending? Jodie Foster stars as Kyle Pratt - a woman mourning the sudden and tragic loss of her husband. Accompanying the coffin home from Berlin, where she is working as a jet propulsion engineer who understands how planes are designed (yes, that becomes important and I couldn't think of a subtle way to work it in), Kyle and her 6-year old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston) are very shaken up as they head to New York and Kyle's parents' home. On the overnight flight, Kyle and Julia decide to take a nap, but, when Kyle wakes up, the young girl is missing, and no one on the plane or with the crew can remember seeing her. Is Kyle nuts? Has her daughter been kidnapped? Does Julia exist? Writers Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray do a fantastic job setting up a very eerie, frightening and confusing story forcing us to constantly evaluate our judgment of Kyle, but the ending falls short of our greatest hopes (Hey, at least it's not an alien kidnapping). At times, you think Kyle is absolutely bonkers and in need of help. However, Ray and Dowling inject other facts and dialogue to make you wonder if she might be telling the truth as she storms through the plane doing whatever it takes to find her beloved young daughter. Director Robert Schwentke sets a very eerie and creepy mood that brilliantly complements the script. He shows us the dark, empty area of the plane like a horror film director would show us the dark hallway that goes bump in the night, and the trio of director and writers does a wonderful job keeping us in suspense and only springing the twist when we must absolutely need to know. Foster's presence also makes the movie better than you might think. Foster is one of the great actors of all time, and her ability and presence keep the movie from becoming too goofy. Your heart breaks as she is surrounded by people who don't believe her. You feel her pain as a woman who has lost everything, and refuses to believe she has to lose her daughter, too. More than anything, Foster makes us think Kyle might really be mentally disturbed. She walks a very fine line between ill and concerned that helps make those plot turns and revelations of information so dramatic. Peter Sarsgaard also puts in a wonderful performance as the flustered air marshal, Carson, who must stop Kyle from causing a scene on the plane and detain her as her actions grow more dangerous for everyone involved, while Sean Bean is sturdy as the plane's captain who must ultimately decide if he should enact every effort necessary to find the girl. He is like the audience, and forced to take in all of the information and behavior to make a most difficult decision. So, how about that ending? The more I think about it, I don't like it, but it's not the worst ending it could have been. Ray and Dowling could have been extremely daring, and set up a mindblowing possibility throughout the movie, but they blink in the face of Hollywood pressure and expectation to give us an average ending, but one you can poke holes through as you logically assess each twist and how it leads to the ultimate ending. Flightplan is set for take off this weekend, and you should climb on board if you can get a decent discount ticket. 2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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