Trials and Turbulence
Cusack Pushes the Limit in Tin

John Cusack, an everyman who could blend into any crowd, is best known for offbeat characters in films like Better Off Dead, Say Anything..., and Grosse Point Blank. He seems to be at the top of his game when his character is, shall we say, one sandwich short of a picnic. Unsurprisingly, his portrayal of Nick "No Fly Zone" Falzone, an air traffic controller who is starting to lose his edge, is right on target in the new comedy/drama Pushing Tin.

Although air traffic controllers seem like a strange subject for a movie, the wonderful characters in Pushing Tin make it real and very interesting. There aren't too many jobs in the modern world more stressful than making sure planes don't crash into each other. As one of the characters notes, air traffic controllers are responsible for more lives in a single day than a doctor is in a lifetime.

With the stress of work already pushing Nick (Cusack) to the edge, his world begins to tumble when a new flight controller, Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) comes to town. In many ways, Nick's reaction is primitive, territorial. For the first time, someone is challenging him as the best and it is eating him alive. He tries his hardest to outdo Russell, but to his aggravation, Russell doesn't seem to care.

Part of the intrigue of Pushing Tin is watching Nick slowly fall apart. His inability to cope with his loss of status as top dog begins affecting his personal life long before it affects his work. Tension builds between him and his wife, Connie (Cate Blanchett), as Nick's guilt regarding a one-night affair lead him to become suspicious of her.

Angelina Jolie plays Russell's beautiful wife, an emotional basket case with a penchant for drinking. Jolie steals every scene she is in, whether bursting into tears in the middle of a supermarket or hanging off Russell as he sings in an Italian restaurant. Her obvious physical attractiveness aside, Jolie gives a deep, passionate performance that makes her stand out.

While Cusack is clearly the star of the movie, his portrayal of Nick is nearly a copy of the same quirky, neurotic characters he has been portraying since the '80s. This isn't to say that he's not good, but it appears that Cusack is in danger of being typecast. Thornton, as Russell, shows a quiet reverence of a man at peace with his world. A complete departure from his work in other films, it shows a different side to Thornton's acting. Blanchett, who was praised for her work in Elizabeth, is ultimately wasted.

Pushing Tin isn't the kind of movie that offers answers to any of life's problems, or deep insight into human behavior, but it does offer an interesting perspective into its characters and the strange lives they lead. The movie moves slowly at times, and the ending is pure Hollywood, but it's still worth watching.

MY RATING: 6 out of 10.

RATED: R
RUN TIME: 112 min.