Life in Flight

19 January 2012. Not since Closer (2004) has a movie presented the dynamics of human relationships. With Life in Flight, it is both more simple and less intensely dramatic and polished, yet at the same time it is more subtle and in some ways more authentic in its depiction and resonating of real life though it comes off with less energy and compelling appeal. It's depiction and presentation style is more in line with Lars and the Real Girl (2007) though addressing different familial subject matter. In some ways there's a bit of the self-reflective element of Anne Hathaway's character as found in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and the existential dilemma as found in Sliding Doors (1998) which in that movie's case was even more imaginatively done as more captivating. Nor does Life in Flight have the sharpness and singular dramatic crisp bite of American Beauty (2000) nor Shopgirl (2005). Nevertheless, Life in Flight has a substantive quality pertinent to contemporary life and provokes valuable reflection on living in today's world.

A truly terrible script that can't be saved by even a very good actor such as Patrick Wilson. All the other acting is pretty mediocre.

Life is good, if it's really is. Being successful can be a plus or a minus. Here you got a designer who is married, successful, yet something was missing in his life: Happiness. This man has a wife who takes care of their son happens to be a follower rather than a supporter. At his job site he meets a beautiful woman who not only helps him out with his business, she helps him out on life. He takes heed of her words, especially about the birds flying in a certain direction. It turns out that his life isn't all he wanted to be. His wife was more of a go-getter and crowd pleaser, satisfying her needs instead of asking her husband how he feels about it. It was not a good marriage from the get-go, being materialistic and non-communicative, that can destroy a marriage. But the more understanding woman who took a job in the West Coast, automatically got homesick already. Both of those people have suffered similar consequences. Successfullness can be a plus or a minus in you life. Being steadfast is necessary to be living well. The fast-life will send you crashing fast, and being slow can get you fired. This movie teaches a lesson about being happy. Those two were a perfect match. It help me be happy, it'll do the same for you, too. 5 stars!

Great movie despite the mediocre cast. Inspiring, shows that life is more than the chase for a dollar and selling out in order to feel like you can become someone. The movie is about staying true to nature of being human. I thought it was great because it inspires the search for something real not materialistic but soulful in the concrete jungle where the human connection has been displaced by sensual pleasures and the endless chase for the next big thing and happiness thats never found. The movie inspires stepping back and evaluating life's values, slowing down, smelling the roses and hearing the long lost voice of the yearning soul within self as well as someone else. I recommend this movie to everyone.

I liked this movie. The dialogue felt natural, the conversations unforced and believable. The story explores, in a subtle, non-judgmental way, two people at an emotional crossroads. The wife didn't strike me as shrewish, but rather as oriented to success, not the best match for her husband, who was more reflective, more questioning. I've been there in my own way, so I can relate. I liked the ending. Like the rest of the movie, it felt natural, unforced, organic. The casting was good, with the exception of Fred Weller, who is distractingly obnoxious, which, according to what I've seen him in so far, seems to be his default role. In spite of that, this quiet study made me think, and do some questioning of my own.