THE THEORY OF FLIGHT (Fine Line) Directed by Paul Greengrass There's a certain curiosity whenever real-life lovebirds team up onscreen, and inquiring minds will always want to know if the pairing will sizzle like Bogart and Bacall, or fizzle like Madonna and Sean Penn. In "The Theory of Flight," Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter generate enough good will to keep aloft a charming bit of whimsy that probably would crash and burn with lesser talents at the controls. "Flight" is fluff but the actors, particularly the spellbinding Carter, give it an aura of elegance. Richard Hawkins' screenplay brings eccentric painter/inventor Richard (Branagh) and wheelchair-bound Jane (Carter) together when Richard is sentenced to do community service after trying to fly off the top of a London office building in a homemade glider. As it so happens, the generally bitter Jane only comes to life when she's on the flying swing ride at the local amusement park. Though both deny it, they know they're two of a kind. Though most of the people around her try to convince her otherwise, Jane knows she's in the last stages of a muscular deterioration disease, and she has one very specific last wish she'll need Richard's help to fulfill. Hawkins' writing is at its best when it addresses the condescending attitude the public tends to take towards the disabled, a stumbling block that threatens to keep Jane from achieving her goal. Jane acknowledges that "a long time ago my body and me separated," but she refuses to have anything to do with those folks who assume that her often garbled speech implies that she's losing her mind as well. Carter taps into Jane's rebellious passion for life and creates another in her gallery of striking portraits of unconventional women. This performance is easily as brave and incisive as her Oscar-nominated turn in last year's "The Wings of the Dove," as the actress undercuts any possible pathos with a sly naughtiness and dry wit. When Richard tells her he stopped painting because he thought he lacked the talent, Jane sneers, "Lack of talent never stopped anyone." "jasanfor"It's also pleasing to see Branagh, free of the tics that infested his performances in "Celebrity" and "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," relax into a role as he does here. It's his most ingratiating work since "Much Ado About Nothing" and a reminder of what a refreshing presence he can be when he's not striving to hit some new histrionic high. James Sanford
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