Quite a few people have blamed this film for being slow yet I feel that the contrast between the hectic Air-Traffic control station and the positively pedestrian outside world is what drives this film. You find two different men with different lives and personalities compete to be the best and though the sheer excitement of their plane-coordinating is hard to beat I personally found the way they reacted outside of their job fascinating. Cusack plays the cool Falzone, who eats stress for breakfast and is known as the best in the business. Though he handles his job with ease his life outside seems to revolve around driving fast, talking fast and trying to recapture the buzz of it all. Thornton on the other hand plays new guy in town Bell who doesn't know the meaning of stress and shatters Falzone's cosy world when his seemingly insane methods produce better results than his illustrious comrade. As has been mentioned the constant game of one-upmanship that these two men indulge in throughout the film is the central theme of the film and what it does to their lives and loves. Blanchett and Jolie are wasted for sure but they do their jobs well and that's all that's necessary. The tense feeling I had in the pit of my stomach throughout the film made it all the more exciting and I loved the battles the two protaganists engaged in, whether the reasons behind them were real or imagined. Great viewing.
Review of Pushing Tin
