5 Movie Protagonists You Didn't Want To Root For

2. Whip Whitaker - Flight (2012)

And now we come to that aforementioned example of a character shift: that of Denzel Washington€™s Whip Whitaker. I don€™t want to offer too many spoilers, but let€™s just say that Whip is a changed man by the conclusion of the movie. To begin with, though, he has flaws galore. He is an alcohol and drug addicted pilot who is a bad father and unreliable friend. Really, the only two things he seems to be good at are flying and lying. Those abilities are both his saving grace and his undoing. He manages to land a plane in a way that no other pilot could, all with a ridiculously high blood-alcohol level. And he was only in the position to do so because he was skilled at not appearing impaired on drugs. But this crash positions him squarely in the public eye and ultimately shines a light on his substance abuse. As an audience, we want to root for Whip. We want him to sober up and reconnect with his son. And for a while it seems like this is what he wants as well. He develops a relationship with another recovering addict, and for a time we think they might be able to help each other heal. But his addition is too great and so for the majority of this film we are simply watching a man hurting or destroying everything he touches. As I€™ve said, ultimately there may be a shift, but by the time it comes we have walled off our hearts from feeling anything more for this man. If there is redemption to be had, Whip will need to do it without much sympathy from us. This is as good a film about addictions as I€™ve seen. I went into it thinking it was mostly going to be an exciting plane crash flick, but that€™s really just a footnote in this character€™s journey.