AT THE MOVIES WITH DILLON KIMMEL
Emotionally drained and physically shaken, a grieving Kyle (pronounced Kylee) Pratt (Jodie Foster) begins her trip back to the States with one thing on her mind: a new start for her and her daughter Julia. Pratt, a jet propulsion engineer, carries with her not only a heavy heart but also the body of her late husband, who died tragically on the family’s recent stay in Germany. Traveling back to the States on the 400-seat jumbo-jet she helped design, Kyle’s weary six-year-old daughter Julia provides some much-needed comfort. But 37,000 feet above the ocean, what’s left of Kyle’s life quickly begins to unravel.
Already overly protective of her daughter, Kyle is all the more alarmed when she awakens after a nap to find her daughter has left her seat. After checking the lavatories and the lounge area on the jet, Kyle calls on the crew for assistance. Though none remember Kyle having a young girl with her upon entering the plane, they scour every nook and cranny for little Julia. Panic sets in as Kyle realizes her daughter has vanished from under everyone’s nose. Even more disturbing are reports from the captain and stewardesses that Julia was never on the flight manifest, nor was there any record of her having checked in at the terminal gate. Things then take a horrific turn when the captain announces that a German morgue pronounced Julia dead the same night as Kyle’s husband, apparently both having perished in the same accident. The crew’s patience begins to wear thin as Kyle continues to insist that Julia is alive, even though all signs point to her having died weeks ago.
Questions abound as the audience struggles to determine whether Kyle’s grief is playing tricks on her or real evil is at work. And as Kyle turns to desperate measures in order to save the daughter she is convinced remains alive, she begins to unravel a mystery far greater than what she imagined.
New director Robert Schwentke does a masterful job of anticipating how audiences will craftily work out his plot. Many viewers, like myself, chose not to follow the movie’s most obvious path, and many probably thought their backdoor approach had paid off with about thirty minutes remaining. And then Schwentke turned on them like a cornered bull, throwing a curveball to the unsuspecting audience. The filmmakers are brilliant at walking the tightrope between sanity and insanity, pushing a woman to her emotional brink, and then beyond. The result is an emotional and compelling drama, complete with its share of puzzles to be pieced together.
Jodie Foster is quite convincing as an emotionally tormented woman struggling against her own psyche. Her motherly instincts cause her to tirelessly search for her daughter no matter what the cost, even as she suffers through public disgrace and the threat of arrest. We feel compassion towards Kyle as we see her despair, and we root for her when she finds the strength to keep searching.
I won’t give away whether Kyle is actually crazy or not, nor will I elaborate on an obvious hole in the plot, for both would completely ruin the movie for any interested viewers. The plot hole is obvious and bothersome, though the filmmakers do their best to cover it up with some well-timed dialogue.
Overall, Flight Plan is a very effective psychological thriller. The filmmaker’s choice to only include scenes from inside the plane help establish and maintain a claustrophobic mood. Jodie Foster is wonderful (as usual) playing the role of a desperate mother. And though plot holes do exist, the filmmakers did a good enough job covering them up so that they are not glaringly obvious once the credits roll.
I really liked this one because I did not get what I expected. The plot twists are carefully done and are very original. Everything is tied together nicely at the end, and I left the theater quite pleased with the outcome.
> Read More Information About Us
> More Articles Written By Our Staff
- Little River Wetlands Names New Executive Director - May 10, 2024
- Local Writer Irons Out Devotional Inspired By Mother’s Day Gift - May 10, 2024
- Sharing Plants & Local Food - May 10, 2024