Written and directed by Cassian Elwes, the producer of critically acclaimed hits such as Lawless and Dallas Buyers Club, ‘Passenger C’ chronicles the real life event onboard Jetblue Flight 677 where Elwes encountered an extremely unruly passenger who then proceeded to make the lives of everyone around him miserable. The film stars Jon Jacobs, Eric Bruneau, Mary-Bonner Baker, Cheri Moon and Makenna Timm.
In 2012, Elwes, onboard Jetblue Flight 677, sat beside a passenger who started exhibiting weird behaviour right away. As time progressed and the passenger’s antics became even more perplexing, Elwes attempted to calm the passenger but to no avail. Eventually, Elwes was manhandled and punched in the gut whilst the passenger was handcuffed and taken away by the authorities. The concerned individual was found to be a military vet and if not for Elwes’s timely actions, the flight could have ended quite differently. The film chronicles this saga whilst interspersing the story with Elwes’s attempts to make Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Dallas Buyers Club.
A documentary that feels like a feature, Passenger C does a lot of things right. Cassian Elwes’s shocking yet true story might have been difficult to adapt as a feature but Elwes manages to do so with quite a bit of ease. By providing the necessary backdrop of his producing antics, Elwes manages to provide much needed context to his ordeal. Elwes writes himself as a passionate, focused man, one who will do anything to solve a crisis when the moment arises. It is interesting to see how this rational individual fares against someone completely unpredictable and as the night progresses, Elwes will realise just how dangerous someone who has nothing to lose, truly is.
Anothing fantastic aspect about the film is how subdued it is. Interspersing the tense moments aboard the aircraft with the day to day affairs of producing a major motion picture, Elwes manages to highlight the similarities and differences between the wildly different worlds. While both worlds are unpredictable in their own little ways, Elwes feels like a master in one and a kite floating in the air, in the other. As he struggles to hold his own against the unruly passenger, Elwes decides to dig in; he will not go away, he will not surrender and he certainly will not let a bad man put his life and the lives of those around him in jeopardy.
Elwes both writes the script and directs it but decides to stay away from starring in the film. This is ultimately for the better as Jon Jacobs does a phenomenal job bringing Elwes to life. Highlighting the stern yet compassionate nature of the producer, Jacobs steps effortlessly into the role and manages to make it his own. Equally impressive is Eric Bruneau as the unruly passenger whose troubles in the past come back to haunt him on this fateful flight. Bruneau channels the rage and unpredictability of the antagonist quite well. The supporting cast also manages to do a fantastic job. Thus, the cast here is wonderful and everyone manages to do their character justice.
The black and white colour palette meshes well with the explosive subject matter. With two different stories weaved around simultaneously, the cinematographic choices of colour ensures that the audience connects with both the stories well. Even though the story is wild, the editing remains subdued and measured. Cassian Elwes could have chosen to go the frenetic route here but his choice ultimately turns out to be correct. The camera work, which keeps the protagonist in focus, coupled with other creative visual choices go a long way in making the film the tour de force that it is. Thus, Passenger C is a must see. The wild true story of a big shot Hollywood producer helping to subdue an unruly military vet on a commercial flight sounds far-fetched but it was very real and kudos to Cassian for recreating the event in such a memorable manner.
The film not only takes a peek into his producing struggles, particularly for the Oscar winner Dallas Buyers Club, but also dives into Cassian the person. Passenger C manages to soar well above its expectations and we cannot recommend this film enough.
