"Flightplan" (Touchstone Pictures)
Jodie Foster is back on the screen after an absence of a few years, and the good news is she is just as good an actress as she ever was. Her latest movie “Flightplan” strains credibility to some extent in its premise, but the acting and the action are solid all the way through. Foster looks fragile in the film both emotionally and physically but her character draws upon an inner strength and takes on an entire airplane full of passengers and the crew.
In the film Kyle Pratt (Foster) is flying from Europe to the United States with the coffin containing her recently deceased husband in the cargo hold of the plane. She and her daughter are the first two people to board the giant plane and as soon as the plane departs the gate they fall asleep.
A few hours later when Kyle wakes up her daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) has vanished. Kyle can not find her anywhere on the plane and when she tries to enlist the aid of the flight crew they tell her her daughter never boarded the plane.
The issue then becomes one of Kyle’s sanity. Has the death of her husband and her daughter pushed her over the edge, or is there some wild conspiracy to abduct her child The audiences’ feelings on these matters fluctuate wildly during the course of the film.
Foster is perfectly cast as the mother obsessed with her child. Her husband’s death has only made them closer and when she learns her daughter has disappeared she is frantic. But she also puts action to her fears and becomes unstoppable as she determines to find her missing child.
Peter Sarsgaard is low key as the passenger named Carson who is later revealed to be an Air Marshall. Sarsgaard plays his character with hooded eyes and a slow and calm demeanor.
Sean Bean portrays the Captain of the airplane and is a resolute force on the journey. His concern is for his passengers, all his passengers. Erika Christensen is basically window dressing as a stewardess on the flight.
The film is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity.
There are a lot of coincidences the audience will have to accept for full enjoyment of the movie. Still if you can convince your mind to just let these little glitches of logic go, then you can have a high old time with the action.
Jodie Foster is one of the few female stars who can hold your attention completely in a two-hour movie about a flight of terror. She dominates the screen and your mind’s eye. Welcome back, Jodie.
I scored “Flightplan” a turbulent 6 out of 10.
