Flightplan (2005)

Fasten your seatbelts. Put your trays in upright position. Turbulence ahead.

Jodie Foster reprises her role as woman/mother-in-distress in this Robert Schwenke film, Flightplan. With the same adrenaline-pumping, edge-of-your seat action thriller that she gave us in Panic Room, Jodie never fails to excite but also makes us empathize with the character she is playing. And in this movie, with taut story line and believable plot, Jodie brings us to a 37,000 ft high psycho-emotional thrill.

Kyle had just been through a traumatic episode. Her husband died of a freak accident, falling off a building in Germany. Kyle decided to bring their daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) to New York so they can both recover from the tragedy and bury her husband. On board the 747 aircraft that Kyle designed something freaky happened: Julia went missing and nobody wanted to admit that she was on board.

The frantic search began. Passengers' manifesto was checked. Boarding passes examined. Every cabin and crook and cranny of the jumbo jet was inspected and every Tom, Dick and Harry questioned as to the possible whereabouts of Julia but no one knew where she was. Everybody, including the plane head pilot, Capt. Rich (Sean Bean) believed that Kyle was insane and was becoming dangerous to the 450 passengers on board so he ordered air marshall Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) to keep an eye on her.

Towards the end, Kyle was becoming convinced that she was hallucinating and that her daughter died a few days ago with her dad. However, a tiny but vital piece of the puzzle told Kyle that her daughter was still alive and she was going to find her at all cost. Kyle then understood that something very irregular and malicious was being played on her and she would not be taken in for a bumpy, turbulent ride.

Director and cast deserve full credit for this wonderful film. It's truly amazing how a very simple plot can give a fantastic story line. Jodie once again has proven how effective an actress she is.

Two thumbs up!!!