Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Holt McCallany, Mike O’Malley, Jamey Sheridan, Sam Huntington
Rating: 12A
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Release Date: 02/12/16
Stylistically old school and structurally reminiscent of last years Danny Boyle-directed STEVE JOBS, Sully is probably the best movie you could hope to make about this monumental event even if it won’t match the heights of the stars previous, real-life based movies CAPTAIN PHILLIPSÂ and PHILADELPHIA.
Sully tells the true story of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the man who guided his plane to a safe landing on the Hudson river back in 2009, saving all lives on board.
With a stripped down, lilting tone that proves that through all of his controversial moments and movies, Clint Eastwood still understands the medium better than most. His direction gets the movie into a tidy 96 minutes, with only a few structural missteps to pad the running time feeling out of place.
Whilst Tom Hanks gives a charming Tom Hanksian performance that doesn’t have the startling resonance of his Richard Phillips, he still holds the screen better than everyone. If anything the films best character isn’t Sully at all but rather its portrayal of New York.
The winter fogged streets and blues infused score produced by Eastwood all give the film a blissful, classical image of the city that never sleeps. Like the jazzy melancholy of When Harry met Sally, I’d be happy if this were just Hanks wandering the streets of Manhattan. However, it provides simply a backdrop to the delicate handling of the plane crash landing.
Told with an intertwining narrative that begins after the crash and flashes back to fill in the events of the flight in three flashbacks, told from three perspectives, there’s a strong emphasis on developing events from more than just Sully’s view. The passengers on board and the initial rescue operations are among others to get a perspective and it helps to heighten the emotional drama.
The first flashback, which comes from the view of the passengers and cabin crew, lacks action packed bombast and in its best, most heartrending moments, is reminiscent of the devastating United 93. Whilst the events that follow are the best possible outcome for the situation, the similarities to the events of 9/11 are hard to ignore.
You can’t help but imagine the people on the ground seeing the plane falling through the sky and imagining the worst.
Yet, Eastwood recognises this and respectfully approaches the drama with no big dramatic score or scenes of utter panic. Instead, Sully’s only words to the cabin “Brace for impact” is indicative of the films stripped back nature. The other two flashbacks follow suit providing small dramas between couples or families, yet the biggest and most cinematic drama comes from the investigation against Sully and how he may have been responsible for endangering the lives of the people on the plane.
As necessary as it was to show the after effects of the event, these moments only help to develop the emotional turmoil of Sully, filling in key details and providing a satisfying ending that feels maybe too out of place for a film that tried its best to be un-cinematic.
Still, Hanks is great, always great, in these scenes and without him, this film would be half as less charming.
Other moments in the film are also dramatically important, in particular, Sully’s relationship with his wife, played by Laura Linney, is told through a series of phone calls home. There’s a great disconnect to this part of his life as it separates him from any emotional investment and it’s a smart move that gives the film focus and drive.
There’s little in the way of flab, even if the score can be a little too disjointed and the court-room drama a touch too contrived. In the end, what makes this film a good time is the way it gets things done with little fuss and Hanks is a major part of that, playing the role he’s best at, the all-American hero.
I’ve seen it twice now and though it’s highly flawed I enjoyed its construction, the moments of emotion during scenes of panic and humour as the two pilots (Hanks and Eckhart) talk to each other, bridging the divide between a classic form of Hollywood storytelling and today.
Verdict
