Grieving widow Kyle Pratt, an engineer whose husband has just died tragically during their trip to Germany, is a prime candidate for a nervous breakdown. She's headed back to the States his coffin in tow aboard a multilevel jumbo jet that she helped design. Her 6-year-old daughter, Julia, provides a much-needed distraction. But after napping aboard the enormous plane, Kyle awakens to find Julia missing.

Desperate to retrieve her little girl, she goes from worried to frantic to dangerously disruptive. The flight crew's patience wears thin, especially because no other passengers recall ever seeing Julia, and the manifest shows no evidence that the girl was ever onboard. Has Kyle lost her daughter ... or her mind? Is evil afoot or has recent trauma caused her psyche to play tricks on her? Whatever the case, it becomes obvious to this bereaved woman that finding answers at 37,000 feet is entirely up to her, and will require desperate action.

Kyle's maternal instinct causes her to search tirelessly for her missing child. She is so convinced that Julia is real and in trouble that she endures public scorn and potential arrest to find her. At times, passengers and airline employees are compassionate and helpful, both to Kyle and to one another. Captain Rich tries to be patient and sympathetic toward Kyle, yet remains professionally committed to the safety of everyone on his flight.

There are some occurances of violence along the way of this film. Scuffles break out among passengers. Convinced that an Arab man is involved in her daughter's disappearance, Kyle lunges at him, knocking him and a flight attendant to the floor. A blow sends Kyle sailing into an armrest, leaving her unconscious. She smashes the windshield of a car in the hold and strikes a man on the head with a fire extinguisher. A woman gets punched in the face. There's gunfire, and a character perishes in an explosion.

Add emotion to the mix and the result is more than satisfying. Explains executive producer Robert DiNozzi, The thought of your child disappearing, and then being thrust into a situation where no one believes you, no one can help you and you have no idea who to trust, or if you can even trust your own sanity, has a strong emotional pull. The filmmakers are brilliant at walking that tightrope.

A dozen profanities include several s-words and sadly, abuses of God's name.

Flightplan is a wild, escapist ride that challenges all sorts of assumptions and gives us the most tenaciously maternal character since Lt. Ripley protected Newt from slithery, slimy Aliens. This film benefits from shrewd casting, taut direction by Schwentke and another fine performance by Jodi Foster. If not for language, this would be a great film for mature teens and adults.

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