Flightplan (2005)

thereviewers
Aug 1, 2015
3 min read

Flightplan is a tense drama that unfolds at 37,000 feet aboard a state of the art aircraft. Kyle Pratt's (Jodie Foster) daughter, Julia, mysteriously vanishes without a trace in the middle of a transatlantic flight. However, when no one on board remembers seeing Julia at all during the flight, Kyle Pratt must battle against the accusations of fellow passengers and the unhelpful nature of the flight crew in order unravel the mystery behind her missing daughter.

Overall Review Score

7.5 out of 10

Review

Flightplan is a 2005 mystery-thriller that is based very loosely on the The Lady Vanishes, a 1938 mystery film. Over its 94-minute run time, Flightplan takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride that has more twists and turns than a Boeing 747 flying through turbulence. Jodie Foster puts on an incredible, albeit somewhat over dramatised at times, performance as Kyle – the mother who lost her daughter on an aeroplane. While Peter Sarsgaard, as the unassuming and scheming Air Marshal, and Sean Bean, as the Captain who injects comedic levity into the film by outlining his thoughts that Kyle is deranged, help move the picture along at a steady pace. Which is aided by the films writers Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray, who take great pleasure in leading the audience down one path only to have certain clues / interactions change the audiences opinion, essentially leaving no closer to discovering whether or not Kyle (Jodie Foster) is delusional or telling the truth. However, with that said, the characters do spend a lot of time repeating themselves and undertaking repetitive tasks during the film. For example, Kyle will say her daughter was lost so the Captain will order the plane to be searched only for the daughter not be found and for Kyle to say something else that causes the Captain to contemplate searching the plane, or a section within, again just to appease her. Overall, despite this issue, Flightplan is an incredibly solid, well-made film. The actors put on good performances, the film remains interesting and engaging due to its unique script and use of detailed, multi-dimensional characters, and the thriller aspect leaves the audience guessing up until the end.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 7 out of 10

Comments:

Flightplan is a very tense psychological thriller that combines a unique and intense storyline with some truly spectacular acting by Jodie Foster, Sean Bean, and Peter Sarsgaard, who each manage to create a vivid on screen presence for their respective characters. Jodie Foster manages to portray the grieving mother very convincingly, while Sean Bean and Peter Sarsgaard both add to the on-scene chemistry by fulfilling their roles as the aircraft's Pilot and Air Marshal respectively. What makes Flightplan such a resounding psychological thriller is the fact that the audience will be mislead time and time again throughout the films 94 minute run time. While this could have made the film seem stale and ultimately uninteresting, the director Robert Schwentke manages to work some cinematic magic that that results in the audience being unable to definitively state whether or not Julia was ever on board until the film’s final 20 minutes or so.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

Despite being a ‘bottle movie’, as its entire story virtually unfolds on one set, Flightplan managed to remain fresh, entertaining and thought provoking throughout its 94-minute run time. The thriller aspect of the film is extremely tense and will have the audience considering one theory before a new piece of information is revealed proving that theory wrong. Jodies Foster, Sean Bean, and Peter Sarsgaard deliver extremely solid performances and, collectively, manage to keep the audience guessing about the fate of Kyle Pratt’s daughter up until the very end without angering the audience or revealing too much of the final plot twist. Overall, while Flightplan is somewhat repetitive as Kyle (Jodie Foster) will say X, the Pilot (Sean Bean) or Air Marshal (Peter Sarsgaard) will say Y in response so Kyle will then do Z so the Air Marshal will confine her to an area of plane only for her to escape, it is an extremely well made thriller. The audience will be easily entertained by this film even if they will walk away with a clear ‘how did I miss that!’ look upon their faces, once the final plot twist is revealed.