Sully [Review by Haus]

Ever wonder what was it like aboard US Airways flight 1549, the A320 that ditched in the Hudson River in January 2009? I did. The prospect had me all excited to see Sully, Clint Eastwood‘s new Tom Hanks vehicle chronicling that short flight and its aftermath. Maybe it’s the steady diet of Unsolved Mysteries and Rescue 911 I watched growing up, but I love a good dramatic reenactment–and Sully delivers a great one.

And let’s keep that in mind when people inevitably lament Clint Eastwood’s apparently hagiographic whitewash of its titular character. Chesley Sullenberger comes off very well here, probably deservedly so, shown as an unassuming, highly proficient, no-nonsense and dedicated pilot whose quick thinking saved the lives of hundreds. Eastwood is pushing 90 now (!) and I forgive him his staunch, simple views of the heroic working everyman.

But he faced a problem here. We all know the story of the Miracle on the Hudson, or at least how it ended. So where’s suspense to be mined? Two places: One, a faithful (and repeated!) look inside the flight, water landing, and rescue efforts. Two, the poster promises “the untold story”–and here we get a story of NTSB investigators aiming to prove that Sully was in the wrong, that one engine was still providing thrust, and that in any event the plane could have landed safely either at LaGuardia or Teterboro NJ.

Point the first: The flight and crash footage is nicely and lavishly done, shot in IMAX from every angle conceivable and doled out in several helpings throughout the film. The substantial chunk of the theater who’ve come chiefly to experience that doomed flight firsthand will leave happy indeed. The water CGI is a bit iffy at times, but on the whole the flight footage is faithful and methodical, honest, tense, and exciting. See it for this, or just for the flight attendants’ “brace for impact” chant. Either way.

Point the second: The NTSB storyline is way overdone. Eastwood really vilifies the agency, offering a deep bench of evil-eyed investigators out to sully Sully. Their portrayal seems fairly unrealistic to me–I’m sure there was an investigation, but this looks like Eastwood hunted around for a while with a villain hat and ended up plopping it on the NTSB’s head. This particular plot arc culminates in a hearing where simulations are shown, giving the evil investigators the opportunity to recant and join the chorus in heaping praise upon our quiet protagonist. No surprise there. There’s some brief talk of Sully maybe drinking and maybe not being all there for some other reasons, but don’t get excited because these were clearly dropped into the script as trailer-bait. And even with all this, it’s not enough: Eastwood has to throw in hallucinations and jump scares from screeching cabs to keep us entertained.

The film does quite nicely tackle an increasingly relevant issue, namely the human factor in our interactions with machines and technology. Algorithms and simulations and electric cars with autopilot are all fine and good, but it’s important to realize how our brains work and the limitations and benefits that thereby accrue. Sully (the man, as well as the film) gives us food for thought, there.

Let it be known (and be thee not stunned) that Tom Hanks is excellent here. He plays the understated, professional pilot perfectly. (I base this assessment on my own brief interaction with Mr. Sullenberger at a gala a few years back. Tom Hanks didn’t have to pose for a Facebook picture with me, but I bet he’d nail that one too). And he needs to be good, since the whole film rides on his shoulders. While Laura Linney is terrific as usual, Eastwood simply doesn’t do much with her–she’s largely window dressing as Sully’s wife, supplying worry from a distance and the unexplored hint of some past marital unease. And Aaron Eckhart plays a solid supporting role as co-pilot Jeff Skiles, whose main job here is to cede the spotlight–a task complicated terribly by a truly porny double-decker cop-mustache. He lopes about like some doe-eyed quadragenarian frontman of a Village People tribute band and I found him quite distracting. He’s good, though, if we’re talking acting.

Sully also does a very nice job tipping its hat to the many others (like Skiles, the ferry captains, the NYPD divers, and so on) who made the rescue what it was.

I also enjoyed how Eastwood dealt structurally with the actual flight. There’s a temptation to front-load the action, which would have left the remainder of the film a slow slog through the aftermath. Distributing it throughout builds suspense and keeps things lively.

All told, Sully is a solid retelling of the Miracle on the Hudson, with particular emphasis on the “miracle.”

Haus Verdict: Scratches your voyeuristic itch (in IMAX!) and offers a classic performance by Tom Hanks. Don’t expect meaningful criticism of its titular hero; just enjoy a proficient and unassuming film about a proficient and unassuming pilot. 

Sully opened September 9.

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