Actually, this is a terrific movie without a clear cut ending. It touches on a number of issues and shows each of the three people above in a light that is not so much favorable as it is
illimunating:
Thornton is seen as gifted, intellectual, spiritual- yet mean and jealous-flawed.
The director shows us how a traffic controller can "see" the sky in 3D while looking at a black screen with green dots.
Jolie is shown as beautiful, devoted, alcoholic and manipulative- the fact that she ran off with Thornton soon after this movie makes the perfomance more than a tad interesting.
Cusack, usually seen as everyman, is a study in self hatred, (driven in both senses of the word, with a serious need for speed). He is heading into middle age with some major league angst and it's not fun to watch. He knows he is missing something, but has no idea what it is. What he wants is what his job gives him- adrenaline mixed with moments of peak experience.
A neargreat, overlooked film.