Aviation 1972

What the heck was this movie about? Where was the "plot development"? Too many movies are easy to anticipate, because they're formulaic. This movie was not formulaic enough. I guess it's a fine line, that needs to be straddled. Ethan Hawke, appearing, and speaking, at the beginning of this movie, was almost a "red flag", ( for discerning viewers ). Didn't make sense until I watched the movie. Then I thought to myself... Was Ethan Hawke apologizing for this movie, in advance? Seems, he may have been, subtly. The movie is very rich in photography, and design. Extremely rich, visually. But, where's the story? The plot development?