I suppose I'll see just about any movie starring Jodie Foster. Don't get me wrong, I'm no John Hinckley. I just think Foster's a talented actor who usually picks good films, so it was inevitable that Cindy and I would check out Flightplan.
As the film opens, Kyle Pratt (Foster) is flying from Berlin with her six-year-old daughter and the body of her recently deceased husband; they're taking him to America for burial. Did I mention that Pratt is also an engineer of this particular jet? (Hmmm, I think that might be important...)
Pratt, her daughter, and about 400 other passengers board the plane without incident. Mom takes an innocent enough snooze and wakes up to discover her daughter missing. Pratt checks around and no one's seen her. In fact, no one saw her board the plane. Sure enough, she's also not on the flight manifests. "Mrs. Pratt, have you recently had a traumatic experience?" the captain asks.
"Why, yes, my husband just died."
"Hmmmm...could be...you're IMAGINING your daughter was on this flight?"
And so it goes. Now you'd immediately think you've got the story figured out and you may be right. Here's the deal: (SPOILER ALERT from here on.) With this type of missing persons story, located in an extremely isolated area, there's only two choices: either Pratt is delusional or someone's nabbed the kid. It's either one or the other. If Pratt is delusional ("And it was all a dream...") the audience should demand their money back and never see another film by director Robert Schwentke. If she's not, then obviously someone on the plane is lying about not seeing the kid. It's just a matter of who did it.
The "who" is pretty easy to figure out. Go with your gut feeling. Foster's character should have been smart enough to do this; I mean, come on, she designs jet engines...that's almost rocket science.
Still, up until this point, Flightplan is an acceptable thriller. Just barely acceptable, but worth your time. But when the motivation for the kidnapping comes to light, plot and believability fall completely apart.
I didn't believe one iota of the motivation of the kidnappers. First of all, their elaborate scheme is far too much trouble. To pull off this kidnapping would require the kidnappers to spend more money and resources than they'd see from the kidnapping. It would also require an inordinate amount of time, research and just plain dumb luck. It's just not feasible or believable.
And by the way, the Arab terrorist suspicion subplot is unnecessary, pathetic and downright embarrassing. Completely unacceptable.
So what we've got for our $9.00 is a good performance from Foster, a couple of good dialogue exchanges, and a lot of views of the inside of a plane. Cheaper than a plane ticket to Cleveland, but also about as exciting.
So this brings me to my latest rant: (If you've spoken with me or read my blog, you've probably heard this already. Bear with me.) Why, why, WHY do we as moviegoers continue to put up with bad scriptwriting? If I'd read a novelization of the film, I'd have thrown it across the room. So would you, I'd bet. The major American studios obviously believe the moviegoing public either doesn't care about good writing or are idiots. But for the most part, we continue to accept illogic in our films (and television) that we would never accept in our novels.
I know someone's saying, "Well, you're talking about two different groups. Most of the people who see movies don't read novels." Okay, maybe so, but they can think. To have a film set up a premise then completely ignore that premise is illiterate filmmaking and I'm on a campaign to expose it for such. Be on the lookout for it. You don't have to look very far.
You really have to search for intelligent films these days. You can often find smart, good independent films and foreign films that don't follow the Hollywood "formula." Seek them out. When I discover them, I'll gladly point them out. And I'll continue to expose illiteracy in film. You're welcome. Glad to be of help.
Now Playing = "Visions of Johanna" - Bob Dylan
Now Reading = The Blue Girl - Charles de Lint
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