SULLY – Review

Most of us remember the “Miracle on the Hudson,” the remarkable event on January 15, 2009, in which a pilot landed a commercial aircraft on the Hudson River in New York City, a successful emergency landing in which no one died or was even seriously hurt. The pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, became a household name as he was hailed as a hero by the public and in the media.

Tom Hanks plays Capt. Sullenberger in director Clint Eastwood’s new film SULLY, which focuses on  the “Miracle on the Hudson” landing but also on the events that followed as well as on the pilot himself.

Capt. Sullenberger (Hanks) and co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) had just taken off from New York’s La Guardia airport in their U.S. Airways commercial jet, expecting a routine flight. The plane hardly had a chance to gain much altitude when a huge flock of Canada geese appeared in front of it. The bird strike disabled both engines and the pilots had to think fast before the powerless plane sunk too low to do anything but crash. Quickly evaluating the chance of making it back to LaGuardia or the nearby Teterboro airport in New Jersey, Capt. Sullenberger made the only call that seemed likely to save them from a devastating crash – a water landing on the Hudson River. Sullenberger safely landed the plane on the river, he and the crew got the passengers out of the plane, and swift-acting Coast Guard and other boats and helicopters sprang into action to get them out of the freezing January water.

Sullenberger credited the whole team – his co-pilot, the flight crew and the rescuers in the boats and helicopters – but the media was all over Sullenberger, calling him a hero for the event they dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Laura Linney plays Sully’s wife, Lorrie, who along with the two pilots is caught up in the overwhelming media attention and the emotional roller-coaster of coping with that and an on-going official inquiry into the emergency event at the same time. The emergency also put a spotlight on the danger of bird strikes to planes as well on the importance of having an experienced pilot in charge when a true emergency arose.

While the media were descending on Capt. Sullenberger and singing his praises, Sully was also facing an official inquiry by U.S. Airways and the FAA, as required for all such emergencies, calling him to account for his actions. At that same time, Sully was grappling with his emotions and the whole experience.

In a fictional film, the official inquiry after an emergency incident is summed up with a wave of the hand, and an official saying, “we believe you, no need for anything more.” Of course, in the real world that is not what happens, nor should we want that. An official inquiry is required by any such emergency landing or crash – although “crash” does not really describe the captain’s successful emergency maneuver. Whether is it a private business, a branch of the military branch or a government department, they want answers any time a big expensive piece of equipment is lost or destroyed. While painting U.S. Airways or the FAA as the “bad guys” does not really make sense, it is hard not to feel that way when the public is calling someone a hero but the company is scrutinizing those same actions like the person did something wrong.

It is this dizzying dichotomy that is the dramatic heart of Eastwood’s movie, which spotlights Sully’s reaction to both.  The pilots’ union provides support, both emotional and practical, as they go through the inquiry and the media deluge. It is nice to see unions in a positive light in this film, during what we expect from them, and being such warm-hearted, likable guys too.

SULLY recreates the event itself in segments, focusing on different points in time and on different viewpoints, while the official inquiry and the media blizzard are the on-going plot line. By not just focusing on the emergency landing itself, Eastwood makes this a more interesting and thoughtful film. The emergency itself is so brief that a lesser director would have been tempted to fill the screen time with a prolong biopic. Eastwood does include some biography on Sully but keeps it brief and focused points important to the event.

Hanks is perfect in this film, capturing both Sully’s look with his white mustache and his reserved manner beautifully. His acting is superb, bringing out Sully’s natural gracious but reticent nature and showing him struggling with his feelings about the whole event. On one hand, Sully is taken aback by strangers who want to hug him and the relentless media coverage, feeling like he just basically did his job, nothing special. Hanks captures this modest reaction but also shows that Sully, like anyone, enjoys being recognized for doing a good job. On the other hand, Hanks shows Sully’s emotional strain, and even a little reasonable and human resentment, at having to justify his decision, which saved all lives aboard, to an inquiry panel that seems to think he could have done more – saved all aboard and saved the plane too. His co-pilot is right there with him in these feelings, and Eckhart turns in one of his best performances in years as the supportive Skiles. Skiles and Sully kid around and back each other up as only long-time friends and co-workers can, and it is a joy to watch these two actors at work in their scenes together. Sully blows off steam by running through New York streets, as he and Skiles are holed up in a hotel room for the official hearings. Hanks plays Sully as a guy who is both a bit gruff and warmly human, but not very forthcoming about feelings. He is very protective of his more emotionally- expressive wife Lorrie, in an old-fashioned way., but is not prepared to share his feelings much. Linney does a good job as Lorrie, playing her as a woman supportive of the husband she loves and a bit both panicked and overwhelmed by what has happened – particularly the non-stop media intrusion.

One thing the film does is spotlight the importance of Sully’s long experience as a pilot in his successful emergency actions. The scenes during the official inquiry help bring this out, as Sully picks apart the flaws in the simulations, contrasting its steps and timing with what really happens in an emergency. Only long experience gives Sully the tools to make this judgment call, something that the flying public and airline companies should remember when hiring low-paid, minimally experienced pilots. With so many companies refusing to hire older workers or getting rid of them, it is something every industry should think about, as well as members of the public concerned about competence and safety in many critical services.

Surprisingly short, SULLY is a fine little gem of a film, not as sweeping in scope as some of Eastwood’s films but probably one of his best. Hanks seems sure to be on some awards short lists for his fine performance, once again. SULLY is a film everyone can enjoy, about a real-life human hero rather than a comic book one.

RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS

SULLY opens Friday, September 9