Jodie Foster still remains one of my favourite actresses of all time but as to why she chose this film as her followup movie to 2003’s “Panic Room” is a mystery to me. “Flightplan” plays out more of a star vehicle to showcase Foster’s immense acting range than an ensemble film infused with great actors. Do not get me wrong, Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Kyle Pratt is spot on, down to the little twitches of her eye when the situation heads south and her level of anxiety shoots the other way. One does completely believe that this woman may not be playing with a full deck of cards.
With that note, i do detect a hint of showboating on Foster’s part, or perhaps the director’s role in pushing Foster’s character to the forefront of every scene, down to the slow motion sequences of Jodie running down the aisles towards the camera. It does raise the question of whether they were trying to extend the already two hour long movie slightly longer or did those sequences actually serve a purpose.
I may sound a tad nitpicky but there are some things seriously missing in terms of balance in a film of this scale. For starters did no one look up the definition of the term, “supporting actors”? We are treated to such a flurry of Foster that we never have the chance to develop any of the other characters on board. Sean Bean is so completely convincing as the captain of the plane that it would have made no difference recruiting a real airline pilot to fill the role! And that is not the end of the list of cardboard character cutouts, Erika Christensen (”Swimfan” and “Traffic”) portrays an air stewardess on board the flight whose only task was “to tackle any situaiton in a calm and composed manner” [RE: The Air Stewardess 10 Commandments] and depict the token red herring to throw the audiences off. It is as if these great actors had their roles relegated to that of mere cameos.
There are a host of excellent actors on board this flight that go underutilised and forgotten. We did pay the admission price to see Foster and her name is plastered all over the marquee but a film is not a one man, in this case WOman, show. Peter Sarsgaard (”The Skeleton Key” and “Kinsey”) tries to bring up the rear and actually does serve up a worthy attempt as Foster’s only counterforce but drops the ball during the conclusion of the movie.
The audience is kept guessing if this is all a highly delicate conspiracy and if so, who is involved or is Kyle Pratt is just simply delusional? The gripe I have with this film is that no one gives the audience any clues as to the final outcome of the story. There is little to absolute zero character development. There are no hints from any of the characters that they might somehow know more than they let on. It is almost as if the director just decided to flip the ‘evil’ switch and the once neutral parties are now behind the entire conspiracy and are holding Julia Pratt captive. There is no transition to guide us from one state of confusion to the other.
Granted that this is a must-watch for all Foster fans, but for those seeking a smart tense thriller, look elsewhere. This film is worth the DVD rental but not the price of admission, especially since the recent price hikes and the latter. Overall, this is a movie that starts out promising but takes one too many liberties with regards to realism and scientific plausibility. In an age where the audiences are a lot more saavy and not to mention demanding when it pertains to realism, this film falls short.
I felt that Flight Plan took off pretty well for me, especially when compared with other Hollywood movies hitting the screens nowadays. The twists and turns might not have been spectacular, but I enjoyed the use of several major actors/actresses to “smoke” out any audience suspicions as to what’s really going on. Contrast to Lost, we don’t really go into the character of every major passenger, but I think the intent was to make you think in all directions, so that there would be a more effective revelation right under your nose. Anyway, I had a great adventure. Some might feel otherwise.
Comment by Kevin — September 26, 2005 @ 4:20 am
Hey…in addition to what we’ve talked about yesterday, I do agree with you that the movie does fall short in certain area(esp plot & characterization!,) it also depict several interesting themes about society. Notice how people jump to conclusions so easily eg. accusing the Arabs, and are more susceptible to suggestions if a)the majority agrees with it b) there is evidence, or in this case, even false evidence available. While the movie fails to impress me, it was by far more intriguing to observe how people were reacting to the whole ordeal. In regards to the terrorist activities in the past few years, the US-Middle Eastern relations are severly strained. While a stereotype figure of the common Middle Eastern man may have been constructed, the movie emphasized this by having Foster’s character accuse them of not only kidnapping her daughter, but also for hijacking the plane. In the last scene, Foster’s character was about to enter the car when one of the Arabs, in a gesture of goodwill, helped her to bring in her bag. The message is clear: “Do not jump to conclusions about Middle-Eastern men,;They’re just like your friendly neighbor.” Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely no predjudice against Middle Eastern men. I just feel that the movie tries too hard to educate the public and the “straight in your face” style comes across as cheesy sometimes.
Btw,I think ur blog is great so keep up the good work! I’ll definitely be checking ur blog regularly so update it soon! =)
Comment by pix — September 26, 2005 @ 6:04 am
Thanks for the comments! I do agree that Flightplan was quite intriguing at the beginning. Everyone is ‘neutral’. No one quite acts out of the ordinary. So i would say that it does effectively turns the spotlight on the one character that is behaving out of the ordinary, namely, Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster).
As it is important to stay politically correct in films nowadays, the scene with the Arabs at the end felt a little contrived and forced. As if they just conjured it up so as to avoid any backlash if they decided to release this in the Middle East…
Comment by cineaste — September 26, 2005 @ 7:35 am
I beg to differ… The middle eastern fellow did push Jodie into an armrest, bruising her cheek quite badly. I would think that anyone of any race or religion would have felt sorry for misjudging someone at that level. In fact, I felt that a deeper irony existed where it wasn’t about Americans misjudging the Middle-East, but the sweet reversal of an American being misjudged by fellow citizens as well as the middle-eastern. This apparently can be viewed both ways!
Comment by Kevin — September 27, 2005 @ 2:56 am
Overall yr review is clear & informative. Good, pls keep it going. Will be well equipped with guidelines to enjoy the movie and form my own perspectives.
Comment by nocturne — October 8, 2005 @ 7:34 pm
ah….finally Flightplan flew into town. Agreed absolutely that it is a showboat for Jodie Foster. No escaping that blatant mssg. Whole movie was immensely lopsided with the supporting cast (esp convincing Capt Pilot)not given much weight. Left theatre with an unsettling aftertaste. Saving grace was being able to hitch along with Jodie Foster on her emotional roller coaster ride. The Arab vs Jodie on board the plane reflected an interesting point but crumpled during the tail end when the Arab handed the bag to her. It was unnecessary to stress a point of misunderstood Arabs which undermined the whole purpose of Flightplan…a hidden political agenda perhaps? Movies should be politically non-partial and sensitive to all races… So the Americans are still the bad guys, hah ?
Comment by nocturne — October 31, 2005 @ 10:34 am