Flightplan

Jodie Foster is terrific as usual playing recently-widowed aircraft engineer and mother of a solemn little girl who is faced with terror and dread while on a flight from Germany to New York: her daughter vanishes and no one on-board will admit to ever having seen her. Unintentionally or not, the film takes its cue from the cult classic "Bunny Lake is Missing", but then goes its own way for a compelling second-half. The script is carefully plotted, hedging no bets and leaving no stone unturned, and that may be its only fault: the plot is so smoothly planned and drawn out for us that it loses some intensity. Ironically, the opening (with Foster making burial arrangements in regards to her husband, and later feeling watched from her apartment window) are spookily dream-like, but the director becomes much more sober once the action moves to the plane, and yet his film could really use more of that surreal, what's-going-on ambiance he initially captured so succinctly. Still, a first-rate picture with excellent performances by everyone, down to the last two-line player. *** from ****

Flightplan is billed as a psychological thriller, and director Robert Schwentke almost succeeds in bringing us just this. Schwentke had all the major ingredients to create something that would be a cut above the standard fair that is increasingly force-fed to an already bloated public. Jodie Foster, plays the recently bereaved Kyle Pratt, who accompanied by her young daughter Julia, (Martine Lawston) is flying back to New York with the body of her husband. So far so good, you might say. Foster is a fine actress who does not disappoint in her portrayal as a woman who is forced to question her own sanity when the disappearance of her daughter is met with a collective, 'what daughter?' response from the passengers and crew.

This response to the missing child sets the stage for what Schwentke hopes will be a tense, claustrophobic, and frantic thriller, dramatically powered by the psychological meltdown of Foster's emotionally fraught Pratt. Unfortunately, this is not quite what the finished product turns out to be. Foster's performance is all that it should be (there are similarities with the role she played so well in The Panic Room), as is that of Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Air Marshall Carson. What happens then is a film that shows early promise - Schwentke initially establishes a grave, disturbed tone - descends into absurdity due to a plot which demands a level of credulousness that defies all reason.

The sheer stupidity of the plot - 'the holes are big enough to fly a jumbo jet through', according to one critic - not only undoes the hard work invested in the early part of the film, it ruins it completely. Peter Dowling's original script would have worked so much better. This involved the slightly more believable scenario of an aviation security agent being forced to participate in a straightforward hijack. Post 9/11, there remains a great deal of residual fear and paranoia surrounding air travel. Sadly, Schwentke has failed to exploit this in Flightplan. There is an attempt to address the issue of perceived Arab terrorism in the film but it seems clumsy and patronising.

There are a few nice touches in the film - the passengers' unease at take off is shown well - but overall, viewers are forced to question the feasibility of the events taking place. Too many questions arise, such as why does Jodie Foster sound as though she is strolling along a wooden stage, in high heels? This is a minor point however, the major one being - and this is central to the plot - how can a plane full of passengers (and crew) not notice a six year old child? Or to put this another way, is it possible for a six year old to remain unnoticed on a plane? I don't think so Schwentke, as much as I would love this to be the case.

You can't say there's a movie like it really. Had a bit more leg work been done at the start, I think it would have even been better too.

I'm trying to think if this required more suspension of disbelief than a normal movie in the genre, and I think it's probably on par; whereas other flight thriller type stuff depends on the viewer on suspending it in other areas, this is more wild, sure, but also far more interesting.

You know how angry, frustrated and anxious you get when an airline loses your luggage? Well, imagine being on a plane with your child when you awaken from a brief nap only to discover that your offspring is missing.

To compound matters further, imagine that no one remembers seeing your child on board and all passenger lists and appropriate documentation lead to a conclusion that your child never set foot in the flying tube 30,000 feet above the Atlantic.

That is the premise behind the new Jodie Foster (Nell) film Flightplan that delivers just enough thrills and spills to squeeze out a three star rating from his critic.

Reprising the claustrophobic atmosphere of her last starring vehicle, Panic Room, Foster stars as Kyle, as recent widower that decides to take her 6-year-old daughter back to America from Berlin to escape the memories surrounding her husbands tragic suicide.

However, after catching a little shuteye at the back of the plane, Kyle awakens to discover that her daughter is missing and that no one recalls ever seeing young Julia on board.

Is she crazy? Is it a conspiracy? Does Julia exist or is this all some kind of a bad dream Twilight Zone episode that will end with Patrick Duffy lathering up in a shower? The game, as we say, is afoot and Kyle, under the very watchful eye of Air Marshall Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) runs up and down the AIR E-474 jumbo jet in a frantic attempt to try and convince others that her daughter is on board and that conspirators are attempting to conceal her whereabouts for reasons unknown.

This is the second thriller set aboard a jetliner in just two months – the other being Red Eye – and Flightplan does just as good a job of instilling fear and tension aboard a vessel where mobility, options and hiding places are limited between the nose and tail of the aircraft. Flightplan does find a way to up the ante by putting us aboard a monstrous flying machine. This AALTO Air E-474 can seat as many as 800 passengers and has two stories, 7 galleys, crew quarters and a cockpit larger than my apartment. This allows the characters therefore to run up and down aisles and makes the disappearance of a small girl more believable due to the many small rooms and electrical hardware gadgetry spread out throughout the quarters.

Flightplan had just enough good points to out number the bad – but not by much. First and foremost at the front of the line was the incredible performance of Foster in the lead role. Channeling emotions evoked if she had lost her own daughter, Foster delivers a knockout performance that was as strong as any female lead in a thriller film since Sigourney Weaver strapped on the weaponry and stood up to the queen alien.

Also notable was the support staff that is each believable in their respective roles. Peter Sarsgaard continues to put in one good performance after another and everyone from Sean Bean (who finally, FINALLY makes it to the end credits of a film without being killed!) to Erika Christensen (Traffic) are provided just enough screen time to advance the story without having anyone go over the top in an attempt to steal the spotlight.

That's the good. The bad includes a bad guy who has what I call the Bond-villain syndrome whereas he feels he has to talk out loud revealing more than anyone in the same situation would for the purposes of ensuring us dumb audiences know the who's how's and what's behind the plot, and an ending that is kinda bumpy landing after such a long flight.

However, director Robert Schwentke does a good job of rising above most of the screenplay's shortfalls and delivers a Hitchcockian caper that is well worth the price of admission even if you will hardly remember most of the plot points by the time you see it on the DVD shelves early next year.

www.gregsreviews.com

Not going to leave a long review, will simply say I usually hate every thing but this was quite good.....I actually enjoyed it.

Now stop here, don't read any spoilers, just watch the film ✌🏻