Passengers (www.the-usher.com)

"I'm not a patient"

Grief counsellor Claire Summers (Hathaway) is assigned her first group therapy case to help the handful of survivors of a plane crash come to terms with surviving such a terrible event. As the sessions start, Claire approaches Eric (Wilson), the only survivor to refuse therapy and offer one-to-one sessions. As the two get closer, the group starts losing its members and Claire starts to notice a man representing the airline constantly following her and her patients. With her relationship with Eric going too far and her investigation into the crash pushing the limits of her involvement, Claire decides to risk everything to discover the truth about the crash.

Thrillers that hide the truth from the audience have to be extremely well written to keep them on tender hooks but can ‘Passengers’ keep you guessing?

Even though airline travel is the safest way to take a journey, aeroplane crashes have been a dramatic movie plot device since commercial air travel became affordable by everyone. With millions of people terrified of even stepping on a plane, never mind flying around the world, the aeroplane has been successfully used in movies to play on these fears and even disturb the most hardened frequent flyer. ‘Passengers’ takes this premise and shows the after effects of a crash but them injects a twist that is only ever pointed to after the first hour.

Transforming herself from a teen sensation into a respected actress, Anne Hathaway’s career since leaving ‘The Princess Diaries’ behind has certainly been filled with a variety of role. While she does still appear in the big Hollywood movies like ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘Bride Wars’ and ‘Get Smart’, she has also challenged herself in movies like ‘Brokeback Mountain’, ‘Havoc’ and ‘Rachel Getting Married’ and in ‘Passengers’ she has found another role to do just that. As grief counsellor Claire Summers, Hathaway gets the chance to show a more intense side to her acting ability, showing that she is much more than that beautiful, girl-next-door type who everyone can’t help but adore. This is a role that allows her to grow up a little and show that she can act in a thriller and really broaden here range.

She is helped along by a fine supporting cast with always-excellent Patrick Wilson as Eric, the survivor who refuses therapy but does want to get to know Claire. Throw in Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall and Dianne Wiest and you have a cast that makes the movie all the more watchable.

‘Passengers’ is a thriller that draws you in and then changes everything you expected it to be. With some good direction from former TV director Rodrigo Garcia and the North Western Untied States local adding to the look and feel of the movie, ‘Passengers’ is a movie that will surprise you and one that will get you taking when the credits roll.

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2009