FLIGHTPLAN

Starring: Jodi Foster (Kyle Pratt), Peter Sarsgaard (Carson), Sean Bean (Capt.Rich), Marlene Lawston (Julia Pratt)

Director: Robert Schwentke

Writers: Peter A. Dowling, Billy Ray

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Released: September 2005

Distribution: Touchtone Picture

Rating: PG-13 for violence, intense plot

98 mn.

In expectation of Jodie Foster new movie The Brave One, premiering this Friday, I thought I’d get myself in the mood by renting Flightplan.

Kyle Pratt (Foster) is flying from Germany back to the States with her 8 year old daughter Julia (Lawston) and the body of her husband, traveling in the cargo bay via coffin. It appears he has jumped from the roof of their apartment building. A few hours into the flight, Pratt wakes from a nap to find her daughter missing. Not only has no one seen Julia, but no one actually remembers ever seeing her on the plane in the first place, and her name is not on the manifest. The Captain tells Pratt that her husband took her with him when he jumped off the roof, killing them both. Is she just a delusional, grieving mother and wife? Or is there more going on?

Pratt battles the entire crew to get to the truth, insisting she is not crazy and that someone on board has kidnapped her daughter.

Though admittedly a fan of Foster, I’ve always found her emotional range somewhat narrow. Her portrayal of Pratt here is no different. She has a very strong personality and presence on screen, and emotional vulnerability never really rings true coming from her.

Sargaard is enjoyable as air-marshal Carson required to deal with an increasingly determined Kyle Pratt. Bean is right on as the patient captain who is, at first, willing to give Pratt the benefit of the doubt and do what he can to help.

The plot moves along well over all. It is reasonably formula without falling too much into the obvious. A couple details left unresolved at the conclusion of the story really bothered me. Why introduce a potential plot twist and then basically say, “oh, sorry, we know we said this here and here but we couldn’t figure out how to make that work in the end, so just pretended we never said anything in the first place and it’ll all be fine.” Huh??? Did they think we would not notice?

Conclusion on Flightplan? The action is good, the pace moves along progressively intensifying, and all main actors fill their characters’ shoes most adequately. Still, in the end I felt a nagging dissatisfaction with the experience. The said lose ends for one, and the fact it felt like nothing really new was presented here.

Best regards,

Christine