I’m comparing this to “Panic Room” which also had a similar story. Of course no plane there, the action takes place right on earth, in an eccentric millionaire’s home. Foster there, has a diabetic son, and is freshly divorced if I remember right. So again no strong man to lend a shoulder to her troubles. She has rented this huge home (couple of floors, with an elevator), which has a panic room, a sort-of vault with cameras etc. because the millionaire who owned it feared attacks. To Foster’s character and the kid, the Panic Room is an interesting oddity, and on their first night in the new home, they don’t fancy ever using it. The do and how, when a band of thieves breaks in after some moolah supposedly buried in the Panic Room itself.
Foster as an actress seems perfect for these suspenseful, intriguing plots, where we fear for the protagonist’s sanity, because she seems to exude an angst, a restlessness, which is a definite part of a person under stress. She’s afraid, yet gritty, and has brains to boot.
Panic Room was definitely more intense, and drawn-out, stretching out the suspense, and giving rein to Foster’s character’s grit and ingenuity. FP on the other hand, displaying yet another woman’s self-belief and courage, comes at us too pat, comparatively. I still liked it though, well worth the time and money.
