The film "The Illusion of Flight": reviews of film critics

About twelve years ago, a movie by director Robert Schwentke appeared in the American box office, immediately getting into the list of film projects that received the most controversial reviews. “The Illusion of Flight” is a psychological thriller with Jodie Foster in the title role.

What film critics say

For some experts who have left their comments, “The Illusion of Flight” is yet another proof of the creative impasse into which the hardworking but picky Jody Foster drove herself.

Everyone knows the selectivity with which the Oscar-winning actress approaches the choice of roles. Nevertheless, two times in a row, Jody embodied almost the same image, and this fact led some to assume that the role of a frightened woman, who does not let go of her child, could harm the actress in the future - to frighten away many directors from her.

For many film critics, the film “The Illusion of Flight” is a very interesting and unpredictable action-packed thriller, during which the brain literally “explodes”. Looking at the mother, balancing on the verge of sanity, proving to the crew that she really boarded the plane accompanied by her daughter, one cannot help but admire Foster's talent.

It is also worth mentioning that the game of the inimitable Jodie Foster, who managed to convey to the viewer every emotion of her heroine, impressed most reviewers.

The film "The Illusion of Flight": a description of the plot and a tribute to entrepreneurship in Šventka

Almost all scenes of the film were shot inside the huge passenger Boeing, equipped in accordance with the latest developments of leading aircraft designers. Once on board this ultra-modern air liner, the widow Pratt (the main character of the picture) took a nap, and waking up, found that her young daughter was not nearby. The girl’s things also disappeared without a trace, and passengers and crew are trying to convince the woman who rushed in search of her that her child did not even board aboard.

After these shots, the usual everyday situation turned into a psychological collapse in the style of Alfred Hitchcock ... This is probably why the picture was highly appreciated by American reviewers who “grew up” on film projects that were surprisingly similar to each other and to the film “Flight Illusion”. Reviews of film critics who sympathize with Robert Šventka are no less enthusiastic: the inventiveness with which Šventka furnished his “flying labyrinth of fear” with high-quality technical equipment really impresses.

Having not found her daughter in the passenger sector, the mother begins to systematically search all sections of the aircraft: huge salons, toilets, a bar, technical compartments, and even ... captain's cabin. Having finished the search, the widow with horror concludes that her child may no longer be alive ...

Foster is on top again!

Of course, the insidious kidnapper made a fatal mistake - he forgot at the crime scene a teddy bear belonging to the girl he had stolen. Now, those around must believe the desperate mother. Shaking the "evidence", Jody rushes about the compartments, gives commands to the flight attendants and even briefly deenergizes the plane.

The film, which kept the audience in suspense for about an hour and a half, ends with a happy end: everything that happened on the screen is not an illusion of flight at all. Reviews of the film provide an opportunity to judge what percentage of viewers watched it to the end. And the end is this: the kidnapper gives himself away, and the heroine Jodie Foster understands that the death of her husband is not an accident. A girl is found, and her mother, who was recently considered crazy, becomes an object of admiration.

The regulars of online cinemas, who watched this film and shared impressions of what they saw, can conditionally be divided into two groups.

“Just chic!”

“Great movie!”, “Wonderful cast!”, “Heavy movie, but interesting.” So, in most cases, positive reviews sound. “The illusion of flight,” apparently, was liked by many positively-minded viewers, although it did not become a source of inspiration for them: buying an approving phrase was all that was enough for them.

Among the authors of the comments there were also people who were loyal, but did not stint on praise and described the plot of the film as "... intriguing, although not without blunders."

No less attention was paid to the scenery in the form of internal equipment of the aircraft, which is abundant in the picture "Illusion of Flight." Reviews of the film, through which users of the global network discuss the equipment of the aircraft, indicate that modern technology is one of the reasons that force the viewer to click on Play.

"An interesting thriller suddenly turns into a mediocre thriller ..."

Something like this movie was appreciated by film fans who left negative reviews: “The Illusion of Flight” reaches only a third of the psychological thriller. When the viewer thinks that now, the real movie will begin, the villain is exposed and the next two-thirds of the picture resembles hellish agony ... "

But not all visitors to virtual cinemas are so categorical. Some authors of negative comments characterize the film as not entirely bad, but also not exemplary.

“Flight Illusion”: reviews, description of the main character’s character

The woman embodied on the screen by actress Foster is a loving mother and a successful designer of ultra-modern air engines. This role, according to independent reviewers, once again proves how the actress goes about the image of a fanatical mother, raising a child alone and ready to tear to pieces anyone who, having accidentally met her beloved child, did not catch him in order to return him to his mother's arms.

Some reviewers are sure that the film “The Illusion of Flight” would not have lost anything if only Jodie Foster had starred in it - the actress’s game seemed to them so convincing. True, some noticed the “bad guy” Sean Bean, who occasionally flashed against the backdrop of Foster ... Jody eclipsed everyone else - the actress managed to be convincing even at those moments when her heroine herself began to doubt the reality of what was happening.

A huge fly in the ointment in this emotional barrel was the comments of skeptics who noted that fans of psychological thrillers were not attracted by the names of talented actors, but by an intriguing adjustment made by Russian-speaking film distributors (the original name of the project is Flightplan) in order to increase the ratings of the picture.

Comments from random visitors to virtual cinemas

Visitors to online cinemas who wanted to share their impressions of watching a movie were conditionally divided into two camps. More than half of users believe that the heroine Jodie Foster, who survived the death of her husband, was not mad at all, and all her suspicions and actions can be explained by aggravation of maternal intuition and the ability to think analytically. Representatives of this group consider the film a mega-masterpiece, second only to “Escape from the Shawshank”.

Their opponents, observing the mother who was heartbroken in search of the plane to no avail, suspected the heroine of at least inadequacy, but this did not stop both of them from constantly admiring Foster's talent. In fact, the actress is so “fused” with the images of “cool” specialists that the audience has no doubt: this woman is really a specialist of the highest class!

Unconventional opinion

Among the guests of virtual cinemas there were very original people who compared the plane from the movie “The Illusion of Flight”, compared it with a kind of small model of modern society, where the atmosphere of misunderstanding and indifference is the usual habitat, and a person who is in trouble has to cope with the situation loneliness.