Flying Blind (2012) Reviews

• Suspicion: how sociopolitical oppression can influence intimacy

  gradyharp2013-10-03

  Though the USA format version of this British film and DVD is not yet available, the film could and should be seen on video on demand until the DVD is available for purchase. At this particular time in our history this story is a healthy look at the misunderstandings between the Muslims and non-Muslims and hopefully will hold a mirror to society to reexamine prejudice and misplaced fear and suspicion. Filmed in Bristol, England by director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz and based on a screenplay by Caroline Harrington, Bruce McLeod and Naomi Wallace, it is a rather quiet but powerful indictment against suspicion as played out in a love story. Frankie (Helen McCrory), an attractive middle-aged woman, is a successful aerospace engineer designing drones for the British military. She also lectures at Bristol University where she meets a French-Algerian student Kahil (the immensely promising French Algerian actor Najib Oudghiri) They begin an affair and Frankie swiftly becomes obsessed with her young lover but after discovering, by accident, that he is a part-time taxi driver, she realizes that she doesn't really know Kahil, his past, or where his loyalties lie. The sweet but somewhat mysterious Kahil has friends who seem to be shady characters (except for his best friend Malik - Sheriff Eltayeb), his body carries the signs of torture, and he's lied about his student status. Frankie works in a sensitive field and becomes increasingly suspicious of Kahil's intentions towards her, and after MI5 informs her Kahil is a 'person of interest', she finds that she can't give him up so easily and starts to spy on him. She spies through his Internet history and rifles through a bag that may or may not be his. At the same time, Frankie's father Victor (Kenneth Cranham), the police and her work superiors begin to monitor her activities. Klimkiewicz ratchets up the tension and keeps us guessing as to Kahil's allegiances, while Frankie is, in turn, betrayed. Her protective father has his own doubts about Kahil and acts on them with devastating consequences. The ending is blisteringly pathetic for all concerned. Though there are some questionable discrepancies in the script (such as how a highflying career woman is so easily derailed, emotionally and physically, by a sexual relationship with a younger man), but the acting and direction are so fine that these minor flaws become superfluous in the end. This is first and foremost a love story set in our perilous times and offers a lesson in understanding the manifestations of suspicion on interpersonal relationships. Grady Harp

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• Top Flight

  corrosion-22012-07-25

  Frankie (Helen McCrory) is a middle aged single woman holding a sensitive position in the air defense industry. She also lectures on aerospace. When she starts an affair with one of her students, a young Arab, suspicions abound by all around her, specially her father (a nice cameo by Kenneth Cranham). The weight of suspicion around her makes her doubt the young boy's true intentions too. Flying Blind is both a neat sexual thriller and also a statement on the post 9/11 prejudices , specially in western countries towards Arabs and Muslims. It is a confident debut for Polish director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz who had only made short films before. Well worth catching.

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• Hot air

  Prismark102016-08-17

  Flying High is a micro budget movie filmed in Bristol by first time director Katarzyna Klimkiewicz. Frankie (Helen McCrory) is a middle aged aerospace engineer working on drone technology and also lectures at the university. Frankie gets involved with a student who attends his lectures, Kahil (Najib Oudghiri) an Algerian Muslim and both have a torrid affair which causes concerns with her employers, the police and her father who was also an aerospace engineer. Frankie quickly becomes suspicious of Kahil. After all he is much younger than her, she catches him driving a taxi and it emerges he is an illegal immigrant. Frankie must decide whether Kahil has ulterior motives in connecting with her or it is just paranoia as she enters a world of people from different backgrounds and culture. It is hard to believe that the film was shot for less than £500,000. The director keeps the relationship passionate as the leads lust for each other which helps maybe to assuage Frankie's concerns about the relationship but it does not work as a thriller, maybe because the screenplay always leaves a nagging doubt hanging over Kahil.

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• Pretty anti-Western values

  Fairbrit2017-10-29

  The slant of this film is extremely anti-British. Why does the film promote the notion that it is wrong & 'inhumane' & racist for anti- terror police to question someone coming from a Muslim country who is an illegal immigrant? The tone of this movie is to "prove" how prejudiced our police and the British people are when in actuality the aeronautics professor was working in a very sensitive industry and naturally should be vetted and investigated and monitored for her social connections. It's not like she was working in a chocolate factory, is it? I doubt very much that MI5 would have been interested in her dating some young Arab Muslim if they were both working in Sainsburys. I wish that anti- terror police had been proactive in being able to spot, vet and stop the Islamist jihadist that murdered 22 young people in Manchester last May. Seen in that context this film jars with me, though the lead performances are wonderful. My beef is with the writer and director, both of whom have an anti-West agenda and decided to frame their prejudices within this 'human rights' drama. There is absolutely no evidence that backs up claims that jihadists blow people up because of "Western foreign policy." That is a lie. Countries not engaged in any Arab wars are also prey to Islamist terror because the entire West is seen as something to be conquered to create the Caliphate. The writer of this film has not understood this at all. Be warned when you watch this pro-Islamist propaganda masquerading as a drama. It pretends that it is presenting both sides to a complex situation. Instead it completely erases the fact that Islam is in a war against the West.

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• What Was Helen McCrory Thinking Before Signing On

  SadnessNeverGoes2015-08-05

  flying blind is about a middle aged woman engineer & lecturer falls for a younger male student but things don't work out for them as the young student appears suspicious by many. no matter what anyone says the chemistry between actors never really works here see i am not gonna rant about the script or dialogs or execution,details etc it's just this project is not interesting to see everything seems forced here this is a BBC production but way below the regular standards the intimate scenes are awful Helen McCrory is one great actress sad to see her getting wasted here. i was forced to sit through this crap hoping things would go better but no it goes over dramatic for no reason in each next scene,all those good reviews by critics are fake i got tricked. this is the most fake love story ever told forget the politics,racism,sex,terrorism debate or whatever this film not only wastes time,money plus it bores you,this is so embarrassing. this film only runs because of Helen McCrory it seems like she was the only one acting its hard to believe that she has fallen to this level doing a cheaply made erotic film a method actress like her deserves better i hope she realizes this mistake and never do this again. Flying Blind 2012/2013 is not even worth checking out if you have nothing better to do as it leaves a bad taste in eyes of ones who loves great cinema my rating is 2/10:Skipp It

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