Flightplan
Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a propulsion engineer who is on the brink. Her husband David (John Benjamin Hickey) has died after a fall at their Berlin home and she is flying the casket and her daughter Laura (Marlene Lawston) back to New York...
Movie:
Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a propulsion engineer who is on the brink. Her husband David (John Benjamin Hickey) has died after a fall at their Berlin home and she is flying the casket and her daughter Laura (Marlene Lawston) back to New York.
They fall to sleep at the back of the plane and after a few hours Kyle wakes up to find her daughter missing. Initially thinking that she has wandered off maybe to play with some other kids Kyle searches the plane, calmly and methodically at first but becoming more and more agitated as she realises that her daughter is nowhere to be found.
She tries to enlist the help of the cabin crew who consider her with sceptical eyes and eventually as having a mental breakdown as she learns that the passenger manifest doesn’t show her daughter has ever having boarded and the departure gate at Berlin showing that her daughter wasn’t even booked in. All looks lost for her mental state when she is told that her daughter died in the same fall as her husband. Has she had a mental breakdown? Is it a conspiracy? She doesn’t think so even if everyone else does.
After becoming emotional and a potential danger to other passengers she is released into the charge of an air marshal (Peter Saragaard) and she realises it is down to her to find the truth.
Initially a movie about a male protagonist whose son goes missing and terrorists the storyline was re-written after 9/11 to show a female lead and no terrorists, at least not middle eastern ones, So in stepped Jodie Foster as the main character, in what other reviews have called Panic Plane and although she does get in a panic and she is on a plane these comments are given because people feel that the movie is more like Panic Room but on a plane. I have to disagree with that take on it and feel that it is a bit unfair to comment on it in that way.
If she had played the role in a calm stoic manner then these same people would be saying how unrealistic she is by NOT becoming alarmed and emotional after finding her daughter missing. Let me ask you this? Have you ever been out somewhere with a child and that child has wandered off? If so you will know that at first when you discover they are not with you, you are a little rattled and you look around quickly, if you do not find them you begin to panic, maybe calling their name and rushing from pillar to post trying to find them, so in real terms she does nothing that a frantic parent wouldn’t do in real life.
The Director Robert Schwentke has done a great job of creating tension all the way through the film, the lighting for all the sets is spot on and completely add to the overall mood of the film, also fact that we are in the confines of an aircraft, albeit a large aircraft adds to the claustrophobic feel.
Additionally by playing on the memory scenes at the beginning we begin to question Kyles mental state as we see her with her husband and also in the hospital with her husband dead in the casket, these lead us to consider that the cabin crew are right and her daughter never actually came aboard with her. in fact I really like these opening scenes, not only for the clever way in which we are set up to doubt her version of events, but also for the colour palette used, the camera angles the whole feel and look of Berlin is a stark, grey, cold environment that portrays her own feelings perfectly.
If there were anything negative to say about the film I would say it is the ending, whilst not a terrible nor a bad ending I felt that the whole clever build-up that we see during the first two thirds is wasted a little bit, and a lot more could have been done to give an ending worthy to the rest of the movie, but that said the entire film is a tension filled and exciting journey and one definitely worth watching.
Picture:
Presented in stunning, 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, flightplan is a fantastic transfer to DVD, as mentioned in the review there are the cold, stark initial scenes from Berlin coupled with some nice camera angles used throughout these scenes, and then the dark but warmer palette used on the aircraft itself. The clarity of the transfer is stunning, crisp visuals, no edge enhancements or artefacts visible.
Sound:
Various soundtracks to be chosen there are three Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, English, French and Spanish and an English DTS soundtrack which is the one I listened to. Sound separation is good to all the surround speakers, dialogue is crisp and clear and never wiped out by any of the effects or surrounding noises. The score itself is a good one, atmospheric enough to enhance the particular scenes but not intruding upon the dialogue of the film itself.
Extras:
In Flight Movie: Making of Flightplan this is split into five sections named A through to E and which are fairly self explanatory. A-Security Checkpoint-making of a thriller, B-Captains Greeting-Meet the Director, Passenger Manifest-Casting the film, Connecting flights-post production and emergency landing-visual effects. (Total 38 Minutes approx)
Cabin Pressure: Designing the Aalto E474 a look into the design considerations for the aircraft set that the film was shot in. (10 Minutes approx)
Commentary: Robert Schwenke does a lone commentary throughout the film; he talks extensively throughout, directly about the scenes being shown as well as other influences for the film. An interesting extra although he drops a fair number of spoilers so I suggest that if you watch it, you do so after the main feature.
Overall
A well made tense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout, with a nice amount of useful extras that enhance the overall experience.
Review Equipment
Harman Kardon AVR7300 Amplifier
Harman Kardon DVD 22 Multi Region DVD Player
KEF PSW2500 Sub-woofer (maple)
KEF Q4 front and surround speakers (maple)
KEF Q6 centre speaker (maple)
Phillips 30" 30PF9975 LCD TV
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