The state of airlines-related news stories has been terribly grim as of late, but the filmmakers behind Pilot Error know this. Partly shot in Milwaukee and around Mitchell International Airport, the Muskegon-based drama gets a Madison “premiere” of sorts on Wed Apr 1 at Marcus Point Cinemas and actually begins with a dedication to Air France Flight 447. The 2009 plane crash, which resulted in the deaths of all 228 passengers on board its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, bears more than a resemblance to the film’s hook: a commercial airliner mysteriously vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean on a stateside-bound return from France. Based on a novel by writer-producer Roger Rapoport, Pilot Error attempts to soften the symmetry with an anticipatory title card, even when its story is enough to tip toe through its eerily prescient subject matter.
Rather than a push, it begins with a nudge. Holland, Michigan stage actor Kate Thomsen stars as Nicola, an investigative journalist who uncovers the fate of her close friend (Wisconsin’s Deborah Staples) and the 211 other missing passengers in the cushiest manner possible, balancing her daytime (and paying) news job with side research and workout sequences lit like yogurt commercials. Pilot Error doesn’t put up any serious roadblocks for Nicola, even when her side-investigation complicates things at the office (working under Jump-to-Conclusions Mat mastermind and Menominee Falls native Richard Riehle). Miraculously, she bounces right back with an impressive gig as a “vlogger,” a multimedia operation in which she enlists the help of a fictional UW-Madison intern.
Eventually, layers of red tape are peeled back to reveal the ominous visage of corporate corner-cutting. Pilot Error ends on shaky ground, despite its protagonist’s fairy tale narrative and while a hyperactive score from composer Garth Neustadter is surprisingly distracting for an indie, director Joe Anderson cobbles together expository dialogue, pilot testimony, and flight simulations for a dissection of cost-saving measures that’s actually upbeat. Nicola’s transition to overnight vlogging sensation falls victim to the “pull yourself up by your boot straps” mythologizing of the modern entrepreneur but Pilot Error retains a singular focus on flying in tying together Nicola’s rogue investigation, a missing friend, a new pilot boyfriend (Larry Herron), and her own fear of planes. Everything is handled with a can-do attitude that even the obnoxious score adds a retroactive “pep” to its step. If Frontline’s documentaries are hard-hitting, Pilot Error is an investigative report compiled by flight attendants and sealed with a smiley face sticker. Given recent headlines, the levity is more than welcome.
- Pilot Error screens at Marcus Point Wed Apr 1 at 4:00p ($10) and 7:00p ($15) with talkback sessions following both screenings.