“God help me.” Whip Whitaker, played by Denzel Washington in the movie Flight, uttered those words under his breath as he sat before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at a hearing to defend his actions. Sweat began to bead up on his forehead and his throat was suddenly parched. His hands began to shake as he reached for a glass of water. His defense had been rehearsed and prepared. He wasn’t going to jail for a manufacturing problem with the airline. The skill he mastered over years of experience saved nearly a hundred lives. But in this moment all he could muster from his dry, crackling voice was repeating his words, “God help me!”
Whitaker is a hero. Because of a damaged elevator assembly jackscrew, the flight from Orlando to Atlanta began losing altitude. Whitaker was at the helm of the commercial plane, and without his skill, the plane was sure to crash. He attempted an impossible role-over and soft-landed the aircraft in an open field, saving 96 passengers out of a manifest of 102 (he lost two crew members in the crash).
But something was amiss. While in the hospital, his blood showed he was intoxicated during the flight. Whitaker never denies being drunk, as much as he blamed the crash on a faulty aircraft. But he was not only drunk, he was high on cocaine as well. Whitaker never should have been on the flight, much less near a plane. But the crash wasn’t his fault, and he saved nearly 100 lives in the process.
Throughout the movie, Whitaker’s defensive posture is to blame the airplane and bury his drug addiction. He pressures and coerces a long time coworker and flight attendant to say he was sober on the flight, at the funeral for fellow stewardess, Trina, who died in the crash. But when he speaks to his copilot, Ken Evans, he wasn’t buying what Whitaker was selling. Ken was going to tell the truth about Whitaker’s drunken state.
By the time Whitaker met before the NTSB his toxicology report had been thrown out on technicality. He was free and clear to testify about his state of mind and decisions while on the flight. But a perfect storm was stirring within him and they all collided as he sat for his hearing.
First, his personal life was unraveling by the moment. His wife left him and he had no relationship with his son. The addict he was seeing had left him because she wanted to be sober. His coworkers were tired of covering for him. And the only constant was the alcohol calling to him. He was as far, if not farther, away from God as the prodigal was in the pig pen.
Secondly, prayer took root in his heart when Ken interceded for Whip. Before failing to convince Ken to lie or deflect the investigation away from him, Ken wanted to pray for Whip. Ken held fundamental beliefs and was convinced that everything happens for a specific reason. Portrayed as almost laughable in his convictions, he earnestly prayed for Whip’s redemption. While all appearance looked like the seed fell on hardened soil, apparently it penetrated his soul.
Finally, hard alcohol bottles were discovered in waste cans of the wreckage, disposed of by Whip while on the flight. But at the hearing, and with his toxicology report inadmissible, the blame went to Trina. She was the stewardess who died saving a boy during the severe turbulence, and Whip had been intimate with before the flight. Whip was offered a free pass. He could have walked away and allowed Trina to take the fall.
“God help me” was all Whitaker could muster as he drank his water to clear his throat. Yes, the plane’s mechanical problems predate the flight. Yes, he saved 96 people on board. But he had endangered every life on that plane plus the crew through his addiction. His estranged relationship with his wife and son were haunting him. He was alone with his conscience and the guilt was overwhelming. It was time to come clean. Having owned his negligence, that last scene in the movie is an imprisoned man free from hiding, openly confessing his sin to fellow AA inmates.
If Flight had a message it’s found in the theme of hopeful redemption. For if God can redeem a spiritually bankrupt person like Whip Whitaker, then he can redeem you.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)