Flight (2012)
I'd rate this film a 9/10. While not a perfect film, it's one of the best I've seen this year. Basically, the film is about a pilot who manages to save all but 6 people during a plane crash. However, he gets put under the scope during the investigation.
The narrative was handled very appropriately. They showed the plane crash in enough detail to get what happened while not bogging it down with the unnecessary details. They then focused on the drama that unfolds after the plane crash leading into the climax of the film.
Denzel was absolutely astonishing as the lead actor. His character, Whip Whittaker, is a severe alcoholic who keeps drinking himself to near death and does cocaine to jolt himself into a normal state. He balances that with being a pilot who can do the impossible.
The supporting characters each had their own problems as well as having to deal with him and his habits. Nicole was the most interesting supporting character. She's a heroin addict who's on the border of being homeless. She ends up living with Whip after she leaves her apartment. You get to see some pretty good tension between these two characters. Then, there's John Goodman's character who's a drug dealer. He made me laugh when he was onscreen. His role was really small, but great. Other than that, you see some cardboard characters like Bruce Greenwood's and the owner of the airline Whip flies for.
Two major themes in the film include self-identity and drug/alcohol abuse. Whip is so riddled with drug and alcohol problems that he pushed all of the people around him away. They try helping him but he keeps rejecting it and prefers to be alone with his alcohol and drugs. He also struggles with his morals as he lies to everyone about his addictions until the very end.
Overall, this film was very enjoyable and had Denzel's best role since Training Day. I highly recommend watching this.