Flightplan (2005)
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A woman must fight to find her daughter on a flight while proving her sanity to the crew.
The story
Berlin-based American aviation engineer Kyle Pratt is transporting her late husband's body back to the United States with her young daughter. While flying on a new double-decker aircraft she helped design, Kyle suddenly discovers her daughter is missing. As the flight continues, Kyle faces suspicion from the crew and passengers who believe she is becoming unhinged. She must navigate the complexities of the flight and the skepticism of those around her to locate her child and prove she is not suffering from a mental breakdown following her recent loss.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While transporting her late husband's body and her daughter to the U.S., Kyle Pratt discovers her daughter is missing from their flight. The crew, led by Captain Rich, and a sky marshal, begin to doubt Kyle's sanity. Kyle eventually discovers that a conspiracy involving the flight's crew and a mortuary director is afoot; they abducted her daughter to extort a $50 million ransom by forcing her to open the husband's casket. After a series of tense confrontations and a detour to a remote airfield, Kyle realizes the truth. She takes control of the situation, identifies the conspirators, and ultimately rescues her daughter from a hidden location on the plane. The film ends with Kyle and her daughter safely arriving at their destination while the conspirators are apprehended.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Schwentke
- Writers
- Peter A. Dowling · writer; Billy Ray · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jodie Foster · Kyle Pratt; Peter Sarsgaard; Erika Christensen; Sean Bean; Kate Beahan; Greta Scacchi; Matt Bomer
- Genres
- mystery; psychological thriller
- Themes
- mother-daughter relationship; paranoia
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- aviation; missing person; conspiracy
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Lady Vanishes
- Content notes
- terrorism
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the direction, performances, and thriller elements but criticized the screenplay. It was a major commercial success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 37% · scale: percentage · review count: 175; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 33; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Awards · Best Action or Adventure Film · nomination; Saturn Awards · Best Actress (for Foster) · nomination
- Production trivia
- The aircraft is a fictional model called the E-474.; The production team built all interior sets from scratch.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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