Mary: Whatever I order will be on me.
Nick: That's alright, we'll get you a bib.
Mary: Tell me something, Mr. Falzone, are
there people who find you charming?
Nick: Well, they pretend because I try so hard.
Nick Falzone is the man.
Falzone (John Cusack) has a lovely wife and a demanding job at New York’s Terminal Radar Approach Control center as an air traffic controller for departures and arrivals to New Jersey's own Newark Airport, the busiest traffic of the three airports TRACON controls (Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark). His job literally consists of guiding metal through the skies, arranging and aligning airplanes so that two don't try sharing a runway. Known as "The Zone" Falzone never loses it, living both on and off the job as a highly focused man-machine. At work, he's the best, and goes out of his way to remind people. Away from work, he sets new "worldrecords" for consecutive freethrows at coworkers' barbeque parties. Falzone's the best at everything he does.
That is, Falzone is the best until Russel Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) strolls into town. Sporting a younger and more dangerous looking wife (a first, no less), a tough outer aura of machismo, and an inner zenlike calm, Russel Bell shows up Falzone in almost every sense of the word. Sure, he's reckless, but his performance record from Albuquerque, Phoenix and Denver are pristine and utterly in a different class than Falzone is used to. Falzone takes offense to Bell's actions and arrogance, begins to doubt his own wife because of Bell's presence, and even allows himself to fall into a dangerous situation after meeting Mary in a local supermarket. In a surprising twist and on the verge of losing control away from work, Bell is the man Falzone turns to for advice on how to hold on to his own life.
Pushing Tin is an up-tempo movie, but doesn't go out of its way to really buck even the moderately attentive viewer. It romantacizes a bleary-eyed, stress packed job to the level where it is enough to keep its employees satiated. The romantic interludes are secondary to much of the plot, and at times seem to be filler. In the end the overall message that Bell finally passes along to Falzone makes the movie immeniently watchable leaving the audience wishing for more.
Crew
Directed by Mike Newell
Stories written by Darcy Frey
Screenplay written by Glen and Les Charles
Cast
John Cusack as Nick "The Zone" Falzone
Billy Bob Thornton as Russell Bell
Cate Blanchett as Connie Falzone
Angelina Jolie as Mary Bell
Jake Weber as Barry Plotkin
Kurt Fuller as Ed Clabes
Vicki Lewis as Tina Leary
Matt Ross as Ron Hewitt
Jerry Grayson as Leo Morton
Michael Willis as Pat Feeney
Shaun Majumder as New Controller
Dwight McFee as Veteran Controller
Catherine Lloyd Burns as Tanya Hewitt
Star Jasper as Julie Clabes
Molly Price as Crystal Plotkin
Sarah Knowlton as Beverly
Kiersten Warren as Karen
Jillian Cameron as Falzone Girl
Michael Cameron as Falzone Boy
Carolyn Scott as Mrs. Connor
Gene Dinovi as Enzo Sorrento
Brian King as Honeymoon Man
Julia Paton as Honeymoon Woman
Soundtrack
- He Pushes Tin
- A Restless Heart
- Absent Lovers
- Man of Mystery
- Surfing the Scopes
- You Never Know (Until It Happens)
- A Bitter Chill
- Turbulence
- Hero Worship
- Thinking Too Much
- No Fly Zone
- Five Miles High
All Tracks Scored by the talented miss Anne Dudley
Scene Selections
1. Main Titles 3:49 16. Dinner at Enzo's 2:09
2. The Zone 0:29 17. Unbelievably Personal 5:14
3. Mrs. Zone 4:13 18. The Language of Love 4:40
4. A Near-Miss 3:54 19. THe Unwritten Rule 5:05
5. The New Guy 3:15 20. Daddy's Gone 3:57
6. Drop the Match 5:03 21. A Little Turbulence 0:46
7. Dr. Freeze 2:50 22. 26 Minutes 2:06
8. The Cowboy Controller 2:14 23. The Hero 5:30
9. Russell's Wife 6:18 24. Losing It 4:00]
10. The Bet 1:59 25. Where's Russell? 0:36
11. Where's the Hole? 3:54 26. I Want My Life Back! 7:07
12. The Donut Fix 3:38 27. You Gotta Lose Control 2:32
13. A Humanitarian Gesture 1:40 28. Back in the Zone 4:30
14. Follow Me Home... 2:12 29. Return to Me 2:04
15. Getting Personal 7:10 30. End Titles 5:37
Vitals
Rated R
Running time ~124 minutes
Film by Fox
http://www.imdb.com