At first glance, The Theory of Flight looks like just another Oscar-season "triumph over illness and/or adversity film." Kenneth Branagh plays a quirky aspiring artist sentenced to community service after attempting to fly off a building; Helena Bonham Carter plays his assignment, a foul-tempered, wheelchair-bound young woman with the degenerative nerve disorder ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig's disease). She wants him to help her realize her dream: losing her virginity, a quest which turns the film into an odd combination of black comedy, mis-matched romance and, of course, triumph over illness and/or adversity. It might have been truly intriguing if it had been more about Bonham Carter's triumph than Branagh's (there's something amiss with this morose fellow--who still seems to be channeling Woody Allen from his twitchy turn in Celebrity). Bonham Carter continues to act circles around her contemporaries with a performance that avoids every handicapped character cliché. It's our uneven interest in these two characters that keeps The Theory of Flight from soaring. It's hard for a love story to be great when you're only rooting for one of the lovers to end up happy. Strong optional. (S. Renshaw)
The Theory of Flight
(New Line, 98 min., R, avail. May 25) Vol. 14, Issue 3
The Theory of Flight
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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