
The story is set dramatically into motion once the pilot of the plane Alex (Winslet) and Ben (Elba) have charted suffers a stroke mid-flight, and the craft crashes—respected actor Beau Bridges appears in a brief but memorable term as the doomed man. When Ben first emerges from the wreckage, he takes in the full isolation and desperation of their predicament. Making matters worse, Alex is severely injured—she’s unconscious for nearly two days. Ben uses his medical training to tend to her wounds, and after she finally wakes, he suggests that they settle in and remain calm, that help surely will arrive shortly. It’s Alex who realizes that the pilot never filed a flight plan, meaning if they are to survive, they must take action—and quickly.