If you watch Robert Zemeckis’ new film Flight where Denzel Washington plays pilot Whip Whitaker who amazingly lands a malfunctioning plane saving almost everyone on board, you can’t help but wonder! But as you get deeper into the plot, you can’t help but wish pilots were also given breathalyzer tests before takeoff. Flight very wonderfully tells the story of estranged husband and father Whip Whitaker, who is at first considered a hero by his countrymen. He lives in denial, trying to cover up a deep problem - his addiction to alcohol and drugs – until the truth threatens to destroy him for good. As they say ‘the truth always comes out’, Whip Whitaker confesses his addiction during a hearing, when Ellen Block (Melissa Leo) shows a simulation of the crash with accompanying audio from the black box recording. She explains the technical failure responsible for sending the plane into an uncontrolled plunge. But finally, presses Whip on his conduct before the flight. He lies, but when suspicion starts to turn to Katrina (a woman he was having an affair with) for explaining the two empty cocktail bottles retrieved from the crash, he breaks down and tells the truth.The Paramount-released film closed this year’s 50th New York Film Festival and opens in theatres November 2.
