Pushing Tin

Pushing Tin is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Newell. It centers on Nick Falzone (John Cusack), a cocky air traffic controller who quarrels over proving "who's more of a man" with fellow employee Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton). The film is loosely based around the real world New York TRACON radar facility. The film was a box office failure and received mixed reviews. The original music score was composed by Anne Dudley and Chris Seefried.

Plot
Nick "The Zone" Falzone and his fellow air traffic controllers at the New York TRACON pride themselves on their ability to handle the intense stress of being a controller for one of the busiest airspaces in the country, even boasting of the 50% drop-out rate for new additions to staff unable to cope with the pressure. The group is joined by the quiet and confident Russell Bell, a veteran of TRACONs in the Western US.

Russell quickly proves to be exceptionally capable of handling the increased workload using unorthodox and risky methods. Nick feels challenged by the new controller's ability to out-perform him at seemingly every task. He warns his supervisor Russell is a loose cannon, especially after discovering that Russell once stood on a runway to allow himself to be violently propelled by a landing commercial airliner's wake turbulence.

At a supermarket, Nick encounters Russell's despondent young wife Mary, who is sobbing over a grocery cart full of alcohol. In consoling her, he ends up at the Bells' house, where they cheat on their respective spouses. Several days later, Mary informs Nick that she immediately told Russell about their one night stand, and that the confession has actually improved their marriage.

Fearing retaliation, Nick confronts Russell at work, and is confused and surprised by his even-tempered response to the situation. Meanwhile, Nick's wife, Connie seems to become more and more intrigued by Russell, and Nick becomes increasingly paranoid that he will eventually seek revenge by having sex with her.

While out of town for his father-in-law's funeral, Nick can't bring himself to lie when a grieving Connie challenges him to say that he has never cheated on her. As their flight home approaches New York, she sarcastically boasts that she slept with Russell. The plane then makes an odd turn, and he believes Russell is harassing him, or possibly going insane, purposely directing the plane into a dangerous storm.

Soon after going to TRACON to confront Russell, a bomb threat is called in to the facility. The building is evacuated and both Nick and Russell volunteer to stay behind to handle the daunting task of landing all the planes on approach before the alleged bomb is set to go off in 26 minutes. Successfully routing all but one plane that has lost radio contact, Nick leaves the building as the deadline approaches, while Russell remains inside to make contact with the plane by calling one of its passengers via Airfone. Russell is lauded as a hero for making the effort despite the threat, which turned out to be a hoax.

Russell abruptly quits and he and Mary move to Colorado. Connie leaves Nick, and his performance at work suffers; the once cocky, boastful controller is sent home after being responsible for two "deals" (near mid-air collisions) in one shift. After learning that Russell had ordered the diversion of his flight not to provoke him, but rather to clear a path to make a plane with a medical emergency on board next in line for a landing, Nick impulsively drives out to Colorado to make amends.

Nick seeks his advice on how to get his personal life back in order, but Russell is unable to make him understand with words. He instead brings Nick to a runway so that he too can experience being caught in a landing aircraft's turbulence. They engage in the stunt together, and it has a profound effect on Nick, who thanks Russell. He returns to New York, where he regains his form at work, and reconciles with Connie.

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
 * Philip Akin as Paul
 * Mike O'Malley as Pete
 * Neil Crone as Tom
 * Matt Gordon as Ken
 * Joe Pingue as Mark
 * Dwight McFee as Veteran controller
 * Michael Hyatt as Trudy
 * John Carroll Lynch as Doctor Freeze
 * Kiersten Warren as Karen

Critical response
Pushing Tin received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 48%, based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 5.53/10. The site's consensus reads: "Solid performances by the leads, but the generic ending needs help". On Metacritic, it has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade C.

Roger Ebert recommended the film. "The movie is worth seeing, for the good stuff. I'm recommending it because of the performances and the details in the air-traffic control center." Despite this, Ebert has some criticism of the plot and the ending.

Box office
It opened #4 at the box office. It grossed $8.4 million in its North American release, which did not make up for its estimated production budget of $33 million.

Awards & Accolades
The film was nominated for best casting in a feature comedy (Ellen Chenoweth) by the Casting Society of America, and was nominated for best sound editing (Colin Miller, Sue Baker, Ross Adams, Derek Holding, Jacques Leroide) by the Motion Picture Sound Editors.