Hanks bumps it up to first class
NOBODY is better able to keep calm and carry on than Clint Eastwood. Over the past half-century he has dealt with everything from cold-blooded killers to scene-stealing orang-utans and barely broken a sweat. Nothing fazes Clint so you can see why he was drawn to the life of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the American pilot who became the ultimate symbol of grace under pressure.
Sully: Miracle On The Hudson tells the true story of that day in January 2009 when Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) was at the controls of Flight 1549 as it left New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The plane flew directly into a flock of birds, the engines were destroyed and an ordinary man with decades of experience was suddenly faced with a life-or-death decision. We know what happened that day because it became front-page news all around the world. Sullenberger was hailed as the man of the hour as he landed the plane on the Hudson River and saved the lives of everyone on board.
So you imagine there is little room for surprise in a feature-length film but Eastwood redirects our focus on to the bigger picture of Sully’s actions and the consequences.
Eastwood’s smartest move is to cast Tom Hanks as Sully. Hanks is our James Stewart, bringing so much warmth and sincerity to the screen that we instantly feel at ease with him.
His snowy-haired Sully is an ordinary, decent individual for whom saving 155 lives is all in a day’s work. He doesn’t consider himself special and you sense his awkwardness at being thrust into the limelight.
The fact that safety investigators start to question his actions adds dark clouds to a story that we assumed was straightforward and sunny. Even Sully begins to wonder if his decision might have endangered lives rather than saved them.
The film unfolds around a series of flashbacks that keep returning to that January flight. Eastwood’s characteristic restraint only makes the terror of the moment all the more intense.
The sense of panic and doom is very real and you gain a slightly different perspective on the day every time we head back to the flight. If you are not a relaxed flier, then this is probably not a film for you.
Eastwood only overplays his hand in dealing with Sully’s life after the successful landing when he endures nightmare visions of how it could all have ended so differently.
The film even opens with a shocking dream sequence in which the plane goes down in
flames in the heart of New York, reviving grim memories of 9/11.
Most of the time Sully is spot on. The ever-reliable Aaron Eckhart ably fills the role of Sully’s co-pilot Jeff and Laura Linney plays Sully’s wife but neither of them have a great deal to do.
It is Eastwood’s unfussy direction and Hanks’ nicely understated performance that ensure you are totally caught up in this heartfelt salute to an all-American hero.