Arnold Schwarzenegger had previously proved that he could pull off a straight dramatic performance, without resorting to being the "man of action", in the horror-drama "Maggie". Here, he's similarly affecting in a tale that the filmmakers are careful to tell us was *inspired by*, rather than *based on*, a true story that happened in Europe.
Arnold plays Roman, a blue collar guy who loses his beloved wife & daughter (and unborn granddaughter) when two planes collide. The person singled out as being responsible is air traffic controller Jake (Scoot McNairy), who wasn't entirely at fault; not only was he left on his own in the tower, he was simply trying to handle too many tasks at once.
The balance of the film is a study in how individuals are able, or not able, to cope in the face of a big tragedy. As we can see, neither the grief-stricken Roman nor the guilt-plagued Jake handle it all that well. But they give it some effort, until Roman decides that he just HAS to confront the man he holds responsible for his loss.
There the screenplay starts to turn more melodramatic and predictable, instead of the more realistic bent it adopts for most of the running time. Written by Javier Gullon, and directed by Elliott Lester, it's a sombre, slowly paced (some viewers might say monotonous) meditation on dealing with loss. The supporting performances (including familiar performers such as Maggie Grace (as Jakes' wife), Glenn Morshower (as Romans' co-worker), Martin Donovan (as Jakes' boss), and Kevin Zegers (as a lawyer)) are effectively understated.
Overall, the film is respectable in what it attempts, if not all that successful. But give it a shot if you want to see Arnold actually act in a picture that is mostly devoid of violence.
Seven out of 10.
Arnold plays Roman, a blue collar guy who loses his beloved wife & daughter (and unborn granddaughter) when two planes collide. The person singled out as being responsible is air traffic controller Jake (Scoot McNairy), who wasn't entirely at fault; not only was he left on his own in the tower, he was simply trying to handle too many tasks at once.
The balance of the film is a study in how individuals are able, or not able, to cope in the face of a big tragedy. As we can see, neither the grief-stricken Roman nor the guilt-plagued Jake handle it all that well. But they give it some effort, until Roman decides that he just HAS to confront the man he holds responsible for his loss.
There the screenplay starts to turn more melodramatic and predictable, instead of the more realistic bent it adopts for most of the running time. Written by Javier Gullon, and directed by Elliott Lester, it's a sombre, slowly paced (some viewers might say monotonous) meditation on dealing with loss. The supporting performances (including familiar performers such as Maggie Grace (as Jakes' wife), Glenn Morshower (as Romans' co-worker), Martin Donovan (as Jakes' boss), and Kevin Zegers (as a lawyer)) are effectively understated.
Overall, the film is respectable in what it attempts, if not all that successful. But give it a shot if you want to see Arnold actually act in a picture that is mostly devoid of violence.
Seven out of 10.