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Kyle Platt (Jodie Foster), a plane engineer employed in Germany, is traveling with her six year
old daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) from Berlin to New York.
They are bringing home for burial Kyle's husband who had just died from a fall. On the flight, Kyle falls asleep and upon waking up, is shocked to find her daughter missing. Calmly searching for her at first, she enlists the help of the crew but to no avail. She inquires from fellow passengers but nobody had noticed Julia. Panicky now, she demands that the plane be entirely searched, including the hold for cargoes. At first, the Captain complies but the search is halted when Julia's name cannot be found in the passenger's list. Word is received that the child did not pass through the departure gate in Munich to board the plane. Kyle cannot produce the boarding pass because her backpack is missing from the luggage compartment above her seat. A message later from Munich states that Julia died there. Everyone begins to think that grief stricken Kyle is fantasizing. But Kyle is determined to find her daughter. Since she helped design the state-of-the-art airplane, she knows every inch of it. She searches for Julia in off- limits areas but is caught by the in-flight air Marshall Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard). She is handcuffed to the seat on orders of the captain.
Suspense packed, the thriller Flight Plan
gives the viewer his money's worth. The film's opening scene at the funeral parlor sets its tone. There seems something sinister in the air, something impending, some thing frightening about to happen. The muted colors, mostly greys and in shadows, the music and the sound effects effectively contribute towards building tension as the movie progresses. The movie becomes more gripping, more spine-tingling with every cunning twist of the plot. Director Schwentke is not constrained by the limited venue and shows a great familiarity with every nook and cranny of the plane, thus the penchant for details. The strongest point of the film is the very credible and excellent acting of Jodie Foster in the role of the mother who is almost unhinged by the tragic event but is undaunted by the odds. Sean Bean as the captain, Peter Sarsgaard as the air Marshall and others in the cast give adequate support as they show doubt, indifference, even irritation.
Flight Plan is a testimony to a mother's love for her child—so deep and so strong it is, that nothing can diminish nor discourage it, not even the negative attitudes of others nor the overwhelming odds as shown in the film. The mother suffers the hurting glances of doubt, braves the risks and tries the most desperate things for her child. She summons up her courage and resourcefulness to improvise ways to achieve her ends. But there is a negative value in the movie. Witness the absence of concern of the other passengers, the lack of a really sincere desire to help on the part of most of the crew. They go through the motions looking for the child but the efforts seem half hearted. And when doubts are cast on the credibility of Kyle, the indifference worsens. In the case of two lovers, they see an opportunity to be secretly together. Such callousness in the face of suffering! Perhaps, the movie can set us thinking how we shall react if we find ourselves in the same unfortunate situation. The movie maybe also a reminder for parents and guardians of children to take extra care, especially on a trip. One may say this tragedy only happens in the movies but with the determined efforts of wrongdoers, it may happen in real life.
(Date Reviewed: 11 November 2005)
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