REVIEW
OF DENZEL WASHINGTON MOVIE—“FLIGHT”
My, how the times are a changin’…
Last night dozens of current and retired Black airline pilots, flight
attendants and the Atlanta Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen assembled at an east
Atlanta theater to watch a premier ( presented by the Organization of Black
Aerospace Professionals- OBAP ) of
the aviation catastrophe film, “Flight,” starring superstar actor, Denzel
Washington. For those reading this who are already “white knuckle” passengers,
you might want to skip this one. That’s not because it wasn’t a great Hollywood
production but due to the horrifying scenarios offered to moviegoers.
Any professional pilot’s worst
nightmare is being confronted with emergency situations in an aircraft that
exceed the limits of the pilot’s capability and experience. In the movie “Flight”
the audience gets a microscopic view of a pilot’s greatest horror in aviation,
catastrophic mechanical failure of a tail section component in flight after
flying out of severe turbulence. But that’s not the worst part of it; Capt “Whip”
Williams, portrayed by Denzel, is a divorcee, living on the wild side as a
bachelor pilot, drinking and drugging himself into an uncontrolled downward
spiral of alcoholism. A solidly crafted script propels “Capt Whip” into a
horror show flight disaster after an all-night, booze and drug laden love fest
with his flight attendant sweetie pie, who displays audience shocking frontal
nudity in the opening layover hotel bedroom scene.
While the movie audience was
constantly shaking their heads in disbelief at the miraculous airmanship
displayed by an inebriated Capt Whip, most pilots in the audience were
entranced with focusing on the accuracy of detail in choreographing the
inflight emergency for the film. Some pilots expressed concern that the
protagonist (Denzel) was a roguish, amoral Black airline pilot. However, Capt
Whip’s loss of professional discipline in ignoring crew rest rules regarding
drinking, drugging and flying lacked plausibility in today’s commercial pilot
world. No-Notice drug and alcohol testing at the airport and for flight
physicals would prevent pilots with alcohol or drug issues from hiding under
the radar for very long. Testing positive for alcohol or illegal drugs would result
in immediate termination and loss of pilot licenses. No pilot who loves his or
her career wants this to happen. The film script didn’t mention the
Transportation Security Authority (TSA) which is currently another safeguard in
commercial aviation to detect crewmembers not fit to fly.
The movie script of “Flight”
would have been more plausible back in the seventies, before TSA and No-Notice
drug and alcohol testing. That was a period when marijuana and cocaine use were
the new fad, “designer drugs,” in society and many pilots filled by nature with
the machismo of adventure enjoyed affluent lifestyles of partying and flying on
the edge. This penchant for excess was fueled by a high stress vocation,
grueling long duty days with frequent situations that tested a pilot’s skills
and decision making to the limits. Any aviator’s worse nightmare was to report
for work exhausted and hung-over and then be confronted with an inflight
emergency. That is precisely what Denzel Washington faced as Capt Whip
Williams: a catastrophic mechanical failure of a major flight control that led
to a crash in which 96 of a 102 passengers and crew survived. The real drama of
“Flight,” however, is portrayed in the struggle for Capt Whip to face the truth
of his addictions.
Interwoven into the movie themes
were sensitive peeks at issues of religious conviction, philosophies of life
and human kindness. John Goodman and Don Cheadle were outstanding as Capt Whip’s
Pusher-Man buddy and union lawyer, respectively. The private tormented
lifestyle of Capt Whip through the accident investigation makes for gripping
suspense which had audience members on the edge of the their seats frequently. The
film has a wonderful surprise outcome that catches the audience completely off
guard, as Capt Whip emerges with redemption and liberation. Denzel, as usual,
was magnificent. Great Movie!
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