Flight: When Good Films Are Ruined By Deceptive Trailers

Imagine if after the sensational train wreck in The Fugitive, Harrison Ford had slowed down, skipped the chase, and spent the next two hours agonizing over regret and drinking himself into a stupor at his grandfather's farm house.  Sounds pretty depressing right?  Of course you won't see a quote like this in any newspaper or commercial, but it represents a fairly accurate description of what audiences can expect from Denzel Washington's latest effort.

Don't see Flight.  That's what my gut tells me.  At least not if you're looking for escapism after a long, grinding week at the office.  It won't make you feel better.  Your popcorn will taste a little more bitter, your beverage a little less sweet.  And if you're like me, you'll walk out of the theater wondering if you bought the correct ticket.

You're scratching your head aren't you?  That new Denzel Washington movie about the pilot who lands the plane upside down and saves almost everyone on board?  Don't worry, I haven't spoiled anything.  This was all in the misleading trailer (more on that later).  Most critics are praising the drama, while singling out the astonishing plane crash that set the story in motion.  No argument there.  The crash and turbulent decent leading to it represented the films high point.  Those scenes were in fact so effective in creating tension that I wish the whole film had taken place inside the cockpit.  Director Robert Zemeckis has long offered spectacular onscreen images (the Delorean taking flight in Back to the Future, the equally horrific plane crash in Cast Away).  He also knows how to blend drama with visual effects better than anyone.  His other credits have included Who Framed Roger Rabbit & Forrest Gump.  But this was the first time after viewing any of his films that I wished I'd done something else with my time.

Am I being unfair?  I spoke to my parents, who also took this Flight last weekend.  My mom liked it and claimed it to be pretty much what she expected going in, which surprised me.  I'm rarely caught this off guard, at least when it comes to movies.  So I watched the original trailer on youtube, then watched it again.  I stand by my criticism and argue that the trailer carefully tiptoed around the focal point of the story.

The preview was breezy and seemingly uplifting, featuring charismatic personalities like Washington and John Goodman strolling through corridors in sunglasses without a care in the world.  The opening tune was Joe Cocker's unmistakably upbeat "Feelin' Alright."  The only other song, The Rolling Stones classic "Gimme Shelter," appeared to transition towards slightly more adult material while maintaining a similar tone.  Don Cheadle briefly mentioned that alcohol was found in the pilot's system when the plane crashed.  There was no mention of cocaine use of course.  One character referenced the pilot possibly going to jail.  They emphasized that nobody else on earth could've landed the plane the way Denzel's character did.  They showed him being swarmed by media.  They posed the question of whether this pilot was a hero, although the actual film disposed this notion emphatically.  They suggested a climactic trial eclipsing anything that made the final cut.  Finally, the pilot's heroin addicted girlfriend was nowhere to be seen, despite having significantly more screen time than anybody besides Washington himself.      

In fairness, these were marketing decisions that probably had little to do with the creative team behind Flight.  After all, how many of us would run out to see a 138 minute film that was 80% about alcoholism?  But it must be mentioned that this was the third consecutive trailer for a live action Zemeckis film that caused controversy.  Back in 2000 both of his major releases, What Lies Beneath & Cast Away, were attacked by moviegoers complaining that their trailers blatantly ruined the key surprises for those films (Ford was a bad guy in the former, Tom Hanks escaped the island in the latter).  In spite of this, both films ended up being huge successes at the box office.  Similarly, Flight now seems destined for a prolonged run through the holidays after opening to a stronger than expected 25 million this weekend.  But did audiences get what they wanted?  It'll be interesting to see if the film continues to thrive once word spreads.

I'd happily take blame for my own faulty assumptions given the director's track record had the trailer not convinced me otherwise.  I was reminded of Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, a presumably more jovial effort from a hugely popular filmmaker whose blockbusters at their core often featured more serious themes.  Instead Flight went the other way and is by far the darkest film on Zemeckis' resume.  The subject matter appears to stem from personal experience, though I'm only speculating.  Much of the behavior exhibited by Washington's character seemed carefully modulated, probably the result of tragedy seen firsthand by the film's star, director, and writer (John Gatins).    

Flight was a good film, in some ways very good.  Washington seems a lock to receive his sixth academy award nomination for his leading work here.  I wouldn't even be shocked if the film finds itself in the 2012 best picture race, though it wouldn't get my vote.  It's an R-rated adult drama filled with sadness and moral ambiguity.  But it wasn't much fun and may leave you exiting the theater feeling worse than when you went in.  If that's not your idea of a satisfying weekend afternoon, I suggest you save your money for this Fridays newest James Bond outing.  If nothing else, you'll know what to expect.