Film Review - Sully (12A)

Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time.

Question: How do you tell a true story where most people already know the outcome and still make it gripping to watch?

Answer: Pretty much like this. (And it helps if Tom Hanks is there.)

Sully, subtitled The Miracle on the Hudson, recounts the events of January 15th 2009, when seasoned pilot Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger was forced to belly-flop the passenger aircraft he was flying onto the surface of Hudson River, after its engines had been taken out by a flock of birds. If this news story struck a chord internationally, it resonated particularly in New York itself. 'No one dies today', says one rescue worker in the film, and in the city scarred by 9/11, the cliche is utterly warranted.

The screenplay, however, plunges us not only into the icy waters of the Hudson, but into the inquiry that followed the incident. Here Sully and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) are grilled by investigators as to whether the captain's act of cool-headed heroism had in fact been a dubious choice that put everyone's life in jeopardy. While the American media and public seek to herald Sully as a latter-day legend, in private his job and reputation are on the line.

The film does a fine job at capturing the turmoil of an honest man dealing with the aftermath of a near-catastrophe. Tom Hanks is in sterling form as Sully - the pressure of the situation etched on his face. Those who have seen him in Captain Phillips will know how well Hanks can play an ordinary guy, whose heroic role has been thrust upon him whether or not he sought it. Director Clint Eastwood lends a subtle touch to the proceedings, quietly emphasising the weight on the shoulders of a man facing an inquiry, while still reeling from post-traumatic stress. 

The final brief and ill-fated journey of US Airways Flight 1549 is charted from a variety of perspectives during the movie - air-traffic control, passengers and finally the pilots themselves. There's a frank no-nonsense telling of that part of the story. Why embellish, when you're dealing in the raw emotion of real-life events? 

The honesty of the performances - both leads and bit-players - give the film its most memorable moments. A young air-traffic controller, who cannot believe he's bearing witness to unfolding disaster. A survivor's moment of giddy, laughing euphoria. And most of all the calm sublimating of fear by both pilots, as they wrestle to prevent tragedy. (Echkart is excellent as Sully's right-hand man, who's got his back throughout splash-landing and investigation.) The power of this story is in the tiny human moments.

Sully is not perfect as a film. The inquiry, lengthy in real-life, is accordioned into a matter of days for dramatic effect, with some of the timing a little bit too convenient. As a testament to courage in the face of daunting odds, however, and as a celebration of one very good news day, it succeeds totally.