(Sidenote: Apologies for this review being super late. I actually saw this film on its opening day like three and a half weeks ago, but I've been alternating being busy and distracted by memes and have kept forgetting to write this review. But now, here we are.)Sully is a biographical drama thriller film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Todd Komarnicki, and starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, and Anna Gunn. Hanks plays Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a long-time US Airways pilot who, in January 2009, successfully landed a commercial Airbus A320 airliner on the Hudson River with no fatalities after suddenly losing both engines to a bird strike minutes after takeoff. The film primarily concerns the aftermath of the incident, specifically concerning the National Transportation Safety Board's concern that a redirection and safe landing back at the airport may have been possible. As he testifies before the NTSB inquiry boards along with his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles (Eckhart), Sully deals with the post-landing trauma, guilt, uncertainty, and overwhelming attention after the general public begins to preemptively name him an American hero.
Sully is one of those true-life films that is kind of a wonder as to why it was made. After all, my explanation of the plot in that opening paragraph gives away all but about the last 11 minutes of the movie, and if you'll notice the lack of any mention of lawsuits or jail time on Sullenberger's Wikipedia page or paid attention to the news seven years ago, you can probably guess the outcome of those last 11 minutes yourself as well. Indeed, I believe this is Eastwood's shortest film to date, clocking in at just around 90 minutes, and those 90 minutes are just about all the film needs. It's a simple story, but one told with weight and depth and composed, for the most part, with grace.
To get the obvious out of the way, Tom Hanks's performance as Captain Sully is wonderful. It's not quite as showy or dazzling as some of his most popular roles, but in fairness this is mostly due to the Sully character's subdued nature. But Hanks is a seasoned actor and knows how to play this bewildered but brave everyman with a subtle and lifelike charm. It's been a wonder to me why Hanks hasn't received an Oscar nomination since his performance in Cast Away, since for the most part I actually consider his later-years work to be superior to his performances during his rise in the 90s (Captain Phillips, for instance, I believe is among the very best of his career). On the whole, we've seen Hanks better, even not that long ago, but in a career full of iconic performances, a relatively middle-ground showcase is still more than enjoyable. Flashy or not, Hanks remains one of the most eminently watchable actors in recent history.The rest of the cast serves their purpose well too. Gunn, a wonderful actress, is unfortunately relegated to the "sad wife" archetype, but she comes across as a believable woman and not just a weepy side character. Eckhart draws most of the humor and lightheartedness from the story, and is similarly likable and a serviceable companion performance to Hanks. Overall, especially when considering the cast, the best thing this film has going for it is its believability. It may not be ambitious, groundbreaking, or earth-shattering, but it feels real.
The same goes, for the most part, for the film's technical aspects. The construction of the script is a bit odd - the film jumps around two or three timelines in somewhat random order. And while the fake-out dream sequence that opens the film is effective, too many flashbacks mixed with hallucinations make for a sometimes disorienting narrative. It also proves somewhat redundant at times, as we see the crashlanding of the plane at least three times in varying lengths. Though each time reveals some new information, by the third time we've seen him land the plane, much of the adrenaline and tension has worn off.
That being said, the main crashlanding sequence, the one that lasts about 20 minutes and goes into great detail about both the landing and the immediate aftermath, is a truly remarkable work of filmmaking. Eastwood introduces us to some of our passengers, pilots, and stewardesses, then puts them in a perfectly edited sequence of peril. Blu Murray's editing, Tom Stern's camerawork, and the superb sound design coalesce to create a truly harrowing sequence that tricks us into forgetting that we know the outcome. The aftermath sequence is similarly wonderful - Eastwood captures the feeling of a cold, crisp New York winter morning. Few times since James Cameron's Titanic have I actually felt cold while watching characters be cold. Hanks's great performance aside, this sequence is the reason to see the film.
Overall, Sully is a perfectly solid Eastwood film. It's old-fashioned in both themes and execution, sporting a message of age, experience, and moxie over youth, science, and technology, and an exaltation of human ingenuity. It's straightforward, workmanlike, and hits its marks predictably but comfortably, a simple story of a simple man who did something simply amazing. Hanks is as infectiously likable as ever, and Eastwood has constructed a film that, although at times jarringly put together, is conventional but crowd-pleasing and crafted with impressive attention to detail. It's a nice little film to kick off Oscar season.
Grade: B
