Review: Turbulence

Set at Christmas time, detective Hector Elizondo manages to arrest Ray Liotta, the so-called ‘Lonely Hearts Killer’, but does so via planting incriminating evidence on him, whilst Liotta protests his innocence. Liotta boards a flight to LA in the custody of two Federal Marshals (played by “Die Hard” co-star Grand L. Bush and “Orange is the New Black” co-star Michael Harney), while also on board the flight is hardened Southern prisoner Brendan Gleeson. Gleeson is sleazy and uncouth, but flight attendant Lauren Holly seems to think Liotta is a perfect gentleman. Circumstances see Gleeson create a hostage situation and Liotta saving everyone from said hostage situation. However, Liotta (who has a date with the lethal injection needle) has been slowly coming unglued and before long Holly is left all alone on a plane with a psychopath who wouldn’t really mind if the plane crashed. What does a condemned man have to lose? Catherine Hicks plays another flight attendant, Jeffrey DeMunn and Rachel Ticotin play the ground crew, John Finn plays a hawkish FBI man who wants to shoot the plane down (!), and Ben Cross turns up briefly as an experienced pilot in another plane who has to talk Holly through the landing procedure, ala Karen Black in “Airport 1975”.

 

From what I’ve read, I don’t think Ray Liotta looks back too fondly on his decision to accept a role in this 1997 psycho-on-a-plane flick from veteran TV director Robert Butler (who has been active since the late 50s and also directed the 80s teen comedy “Up the Creek”) and screenwriter Jonathan Brett (Producer of “She-Devil”, of all things). That’s a shame, because for what it is (It’s a B movie with an B+ cast), it gets the job done, and Liotta is ideally (type) cast as the central madman. What I liked most about the film is that Liotta’s performance doesn’t start at 11, otherwise there’d be nowhere for the film to go. Hell, we’re even offered up another suitable villain in hulking cracker Brendan Gleeson, which when combined with the fact that Liotta is pleading innocence when we first meet him, might give you pause. He then plays the slightly too nice guy for about 20-30 minutes before we really are shown the score with him for sure. Yes, Liotta is ultimately like the dog in “Cujo”, getting uglier and more psychotic and animalistic as the film goes on. However, because he doesn’t start at 11, Liotta manages to make it work. He has one moment in particular with Catherine Hicks, where he gives her the most chilling stare you’ve seen in maybe forever. He is absolutely not phoning this in, no matter how he felt about the film. It’s a really good job by him, in a pretty underrated film. It may essentially be a psycho-thriller on a plane, but it’s pretty classily put together for what is pretty much “The Hitcher” meets “Airport 1975”.

 

The terrific music score by Shirley Walker (“Final Destination”, the remake of “Willard”) is especially exciting.  I’m not sure the film really needed Rachel Ticotin (her second ‘psychos on a plane’ film from 1997, the other being the excellent “Con Air”), Jeffrey DeMunn, and Jon Finn all on the ground, but the film definitely benefits from a strong supporting cast of reliable actors nonetheless. Catherine Hicks (a much better actress than the career she has to show for it, I think) in particular maximises her minutes with a scene-stealing, wholly appealing performance as one of the flight attendants, and Hector Elizondo brings a lot of personality and energy to his crusty old cop role as well. Irish character actor Brendan Gleeson is hardly convincing as a Southerner, but particularly from a physical point of view, he’s effective and amusing as a thoroughly uncouth, nasty prisoner. As for leading lady Lauren Holly, this is probably her best performance to date, certainly her most likeable and least self-conscious. She’s a relatable and sympathetic presence on screen, and plays the potential victim well, without seeming useless or weak. It’s a tricky balance that Holly navigates very well. However, there’s little doubt that this is the Ray Liotta show here, and no matter his opinion of the film, he at least looks to be having a whale of a time. The guy plays an excellent bad guy, what can I say? He’s both a riot and genuinely menacing, not an easy thing to achieve. I’d hate to be a Starbucks employee screwing up Liotta’s order. The man genuinely terrifies me, though he’s probably a sweetheart (Much as I liked Mark Harmon, could you imagine Liotta as Ted Bundy in “A Deliberate Stranger”? He’d be spine-chilling!).

 

If there’s a problem with the film, it’s pacing. The whole thing takes just a bit too long to (excuse the pun) get off the ground and really get moving. Other than that, I honestly don’t have any complaints here. It’s not aiming to be “Citizen Kane”, and to be honest, you kind of need that build-up or else Liotta will be seen frothing at the mouth from moment one.

 

A well-modulated bad guy performance by Ray Liotta, a wisely-adopted sense of humour, and a sympathetic lead in Lauren Holly help turn this into polished schlock, instead of just a run-of-the-mill psycho movie. It’s jolly good fun, so long as you understand that it’s a dressed up B-movie. Well-done junk that knows it’s junk.

 

Rating: B-