Sully – Film Review by Pat V.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Todd Komarnicki (screenplay), Chesley Sullenberger (based on the book “Highest Duty” by) (as Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger)
Stars: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger might not be a name you immediately recognise but you are probably aware of the heroic incident he was involved in when he made news headlines throughout the world on 15th January 2009. On that date, less than three minutes after take-off from La Guardia Airport, the Airbus 320 he was piloting struck a flock of birds, destroying both its engines. Realising that he could not make it safely back to the airport, Sully decided that his only option was to land the airplane in the Hudson river which he did successfully without serious injury to any of his passengers or crew. This amazing feat became quickly known as ‘The Miracle on the Hudson’.

Director Clint Eastwood’s film tells the story of the accident and, more particularly, of its aftermath. While Captain Sullenberger was greeted as a hero immediately after the miraculous landing, within a short space of time the National Transport Safety Board suggested that he had been reckless and that his decision to land in the river was flawed. The investigation that followed and the attempts by Sully to clear his name are at the core of Eastwood’s film.

This is not just another disaster movie. From the opening shots, showing the accident, we are aware of Eastwood’s tight directorial grip, avoiding sentimentality and melodrama, offering a compelling work of psychological depth. Unlike other air disaster movies, he focuses on the pilots, not the passengers, using the actual text of the cockpit conversation, and creates a believable scenario of men, faced with a seemingly impossible situation, drawing on their knowledge and inner strength to bring the crisis to a successful conclusion.

As the two pilots, Tom Hanks (Sully)  and Aaron Eckhart (First Officer Jeffrey Skiles) are excellent. Their performances are restrained and engaging, avoiding the histrionics you often get in this kind of movie. In the crash sequence they are efficient but never stray into the realm of the super-hero and it is the “human factor” that plays a significant part in the subsequent investigation.

There are no real surprises in this film (in fact, the trailer gives away most of the story). It is, however, a well-crafted and beautifully acted piece, showing the bravery of an ordinary, modest man and more especially, the anguish he suffers during the investigation that sets out to destroy his reputation. During the closing credits we see photos of the actual crash scene and interviews with the survivors who are unstinting in their praise for Sully and his crew.

Sully shows Eastwood at his most optimistic as a director, lacking the violence of many of his films and ending on a positive note. There is a predictable quality to the film but it tells a story that deserves to be told and it is hard to imagine it told better.