Flightplan

Flightplan (Director: Robert Schwentke)

The German Schwentke has not had a major release in the States. Flightplan is written by newcomer Peter A Dowling and bad-movie veteran Billy Ray (Suspect Zero, Color of Night, Hart's War)

That might be a little misleading, to set an ominous tone by describing screenwriter Ray as a bad-movie vet, but that's why it's surprising to see this thriller, one where much of the intensity comes from the plot complications and dialogue, turn out to be a winner. Of course, maybe Dowling is mostly responsible, and the studios wanted to have an experienced guy to help him out, but given Ray's track record--he must have been able to convince everyone that his work has been screwed by the directors to keep getting work after those bombs.

Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster), is a Berlin airplane engineer who has just lost her husband in some sort of falling accident, and has decided to leave her job and go out to the States with her daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) and has dead hubbie in tow tucked in a huge high-tech double-decker airplane that she helped design. At one point, Kyle and Julia fall asleep, and when Kyle wakes up, Julia is gone. She of course scours the plane looking for her, and is unable, and raises the alarm of the flight attendants (Erika Christensen, Kate Beahan, and Guess Who's Judith Scott, to name a few) and air marshall Carson (Peter Sarsgaard). The search is fruitless, and she then starts getting Captain Rich (Sean Bean) involved. No one can find her, and so now Kyle is considered to be suffering from delusions, because Julia's boarding pass doesn't seem to exist and she's not on the charter. Now, the crazy woman is going to use her knowledge of the plane to cause a ruckus as she tries to go into the plane's restricted areas.

This is the premise set up by the trailers, which seem to have been playing for ages. I've been wondering "Where's Julia?" as much as Foster was all summer, and I couldn't help but think that the answer was going to be something tremendously unsatisfying. But the film delivers a good answer, and it's one that sets a great third act into motion. Some viewers may have a problem with some seeming plot holes here (I was bothered a little myself), but that doesn't keep it from being a well-filmed, intriguing picture. Jodie Foster is in complete engagement mode here--how can you not believe her, whether she's delusional or not? I think most audiences are going to respond well to it, it's one of the best thrillers I've seen in awhile.

One qualm: I don't want to get too much into the rest of this plot, and I will refrain from giving anything away, but there is a sort of "tell" in this movie that might allow you to figure it out before the movie is ready to do so. I think movies are a matter of perspective, and we should be seeing what Jodie Foster sees--this eludes filmmakers when they want to film that "second-viewing a-ha! moment," because the tell can be found in the first viewing and it leads the viewer too well into the right direction. It didn't bother me, but it would have been better to leave those components out. Anyway, this is a really good movie.