Flightplan

Year: 2005

Grade: B-

Country: USA

Director: Schwentke

Review

pretty standard hollywood thriller. jodie foster is solid, but not amazing. she reprises a role she’s played since taxi driver – a strong, yet vulnerable woman under extreme circumstances. it works for her and she’s good at it so that’s not really a knock on her, it’s just an observation. the plot seems to have a couple holes, but i’ve never been a stickler for that sort of thing. comic book lovers (notorious for getting stuck on plot inconsistencies) probably would. sean bean is decent and erika christensen doesn’t do much with not much screen time, but she also doesn’t play a psycho so it’s a good move for her. peter sarsgaard gives another fine performance here. i’d like to see him play a more sympathetic, less intense, more textured character in the future. i think he’s a great contemporary talent who elevates every project in which he’s involved so i hope he gets the opportunity.

films like this and red eye lend themselves to readings as social commentary because both involve terrorism on a plane in the post 9-11 world. christensen plays the silent enabler and sarsgaard plays the bush character who says (roughly) – i’m in charge so people accept what i say as the truth. he’s a bush character because he guides everyone’s perception of reality and plays a character who is supposed to be our protector, but is ultimately the terrorist.

Watched in theater