Sully
Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger:
"Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time."
Sully
is directed by Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven,
Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, American
Sniper) and stars Tom Hanks as Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, Aaron Eckhart
as Jeff Skiles, Laura Linney as Lorraine Sullenberger, Anna Gunn as Elizabeth
Davis, Mike O'Malley as Charles Porter, Jamey Sheridan as Ben Edwards, Valarie
Mahaffey as Diane Higgins, Delhi Harrington as Lucille Palmer, and Molly Hagan
as Doreen Welsh.
Now into the air, Flight 1549, captained by
Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles, collides with a
flock of birds that ruin the thrust on both engines. This endangers all 155
passengers and crew members on board the airplane. Every second is precious
because the plane is losing altitude over New York City and could, at any
moment, crash into buildings to cause catastrophe. Sully had only 280 seconds
to make life-changing decisions that would save the people who are under his
watch. He does so and he is now a national hero, but what you don't see is the
behind the scenes of what Sully went through, professionally and
psychologically, after the heroic action of safely landing the a plane in the
Hudson River.
Ah. Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood. Two
talented Hollywood heavyweights. They're taking on the story of one of
America's most recent and jaw-dropping saves. Think of that and tell me that
it's not (or going to be, if you haven't seen it yet) good. Sully is great. I honestly don't think I
could've disliked this movie even if I tried. All across the board, the
performances from all the actors are solid and the directing is strong. It's
annoying that most of the movies that have come out this year with a big named
actor (or multiple) and a well-known director aren't really up to par with the
phenomenal independent films that have come out so far. Luckily, Hanks and
Eastwood brought the big guns and filmed a movie about a plane crash...that
sounds so dark. However, it is an amazing true story that we don't know much
about. All most people really know is that a plane landed in the Hudson River
in New York and everyone survived the landing. Sully, the pilot of that flight, really went through a lot after the
event and Tom Hanks portrays that excellently. It's unfair to use "Tom
Hanks is a fantastic actor" as a component of how Sully is good, but I can't help it. The guy is a legend. It's
almost as if he isn't trying to be a regular Joe. That's ridiculous to think of
since he is Tom f***ing Hanks, but he really is the everyday guy that's walking
on a sidewalk going to work. His acting skills surpass the outlandish and loud
performances that we see in cinema today to something much more subtle: the
ordinary citizen. It's not even just his grounded personality that allows the
audience to connect with the character of Sully. Tom can take a lead role and
hand the torch of expertise to other actors. In this case, Aaron Eckhart had a
moment in the limelight. His performance as Jeff Skiles compliments Hanks'
Sully as almost a brotherly bond (which is what I expect after the profound and
dangerous experience they both went through). I wouldn't be surprised if Tom
Hanks is awarded the nomination for best actor in a leading role by the Academy
Awards. Although that may seem like it's not saying much, you can't argue with
the results of Hanks' work. If Eckhart is awarded the nomination for supporting
role, then I would be surprised. Nonetheless, I would still be happy with that
too.
I can give you many reasons why Tom Hanks
is one of the (if not THE) greatest Actor working today, but I don't have as
many reasons to support how Clint Eastwood is one of the greatest directors
working today. In fact, he has had his share of not-so-good films. However, his
role as "captain" of the film is particularly noteworthy of a mention.
Don't worry, I love Clint Eastwood's work as a director. All I'm saying is
that, like any director, he has a very good amount of stink bombs. On the plus
side, he has his pile of treasures that are timeless. Unpopular opinion: my favorite
film directed (not starring) by Clint Eastwood is Letters from Iwo Jima. From what I notice in his films, his choice
to use darker/bluish colors allows for more mistakes in his films overall. If
there is supposed to be a happy or exciting scene, the colors pretty much are
the parallel of what you want to have in those scenarios. Then again, I'm not a
cinematographer. I just don't think it fits. In Sully, this color scheme fits perfectly though. Actually, mostly
everything about Sully fits perfectly
with the story surrounding the man of the hour. Clint Eastwood, even at his age,
still is a tour de force. Although, now he's more of a tour de force in the
directorial department. There's just one problem with one of his choices that I
can't seem to stop thinking about...
The use of storytelling is a bit bizarre. I
totally understand the usage of flashbacks to tells the story, as long as it's
not overused or in your face about it, but I didn't expect Sully to have sort of a different way to tell this courageous
story. I honestly feel like it could've gone better in a different route. As an
example, the film, at one point, goes back in time to when Sully was just a
teenager finding his love for flight, then the scene cuts to present day (after
the event). I can't get behind the huge jumps in time, or from seeing what's going
on in the cockpit of the airplane to dialogue between a father and his son in
the passenger seating area wondering how the other son is doing in the far back
seats. I can actually trace these kinds of scenes to the under-utilization of
characters. Although everyone does a great job, in terms of acting, there isn't
enough of some characters to make me want to want more from them. I don't want
to say the word "care" because I do care about them. I get that Sully is about Sully the airline pilot,
but if there are more characters involved with more screen time than an extra
but less than a secondary character, I don't want those characters to feel
forced either. Sully's wife Lorraine is one of those characters who I'd like to
know more about, but she doesn't get enough screen time. It just seems like the
filmmakers put her in there to remind everyone that Sully has a family back
home. I know I'm sounding kind of cruel or rude, but I honestly think no
characters should be put in the position to be less than a secondary character,
but more than an extra. It's unfair to the story.
Sully
has a lot going for it. I know it sounds like I'm either contradicting my
appreciation for this movie, but all I want to get through to everyone is that
the pros outweigh the cons by 7 miles away (just like Flight 1549 was from an
airport. Bad joke, right?). Tom Hanks is still the talented everyday man that
we all love, Clint Eastwood is a brilliant director, and there are some minor
things that I didn't love about Sully.
To be perfectly frank, the story is truly amazing and that's what got to me.
Captain Sullenberger is a true American hero. The message that this movie
provides through Sully's precise and mind boggling is one that I will remember
for a long, long time. A salute to you, Sully!
4.4/5
PRO
- Performances (Tom Hanks especially)
- Clint Eastwood's directing
- Amazing story of a hero
CON
- Storytelling technique is a bit all over the place
- Underutilized characters
Sully is rated PG-13 for some peril and brief strong language
Click here to watch the trailer
Sully is in theaters everywhere now
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