Sully Review

Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Mike O'Malley

You probably know the story of Chesley Sullenberger (aka Sully) and US Airways Flight 1549. "The Miracle on the Hudson" is what the press labelled it. If you aren't familiar, go read about it and come back. I'll give the short version. Flight 1549 was struck by a flock of geese as it was taking off, destroying both of the engines in flight. The captain, Sully, guided the plane to a forced water landing in the Hudson River, something that had never happened before. And miraculously, every single person on that flight survived. Hailed as a hero, it was only a matter of time before Sully's story would make it to the screen. And who better to take on the role than Tom Hanks and director Clint Eastwood? Sully is a depiction of one of the greatest heroes of our time that doesn't lavish its subject. Sully was just doing his job. While the film falls short every in a few places from pacing and a few supporting characters, the message remains constant. And in an era where not many great messages are out there, it's refreshing to see Sully shine

Sully is grounded by Tom Hanks' fantastic performance in the titular role. Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors because he always delivers. While he gave fine performances as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, and James Donovan in Bridge of Spies, not since Captain Phillips has he really given such a deep and layered performance. Hanks has demonstrated time and time again that he is the best actor to play the American "Everyman" in film, and his last four mainstream roles prove it. Sully is just an average guy doing his duty. He doesn't see the point in the pedestal the media places him on, and doesn't feel that he alone is the hero that saved the 155 souls on board. He carries this demeanor into the investigation. Yes, there is an investigation, and who better to head it than Anna Gunn, TV's favorite b*tchy wife from Breaking Bad. Because at the end of the day, while 155 people survived, Sully destroyed the plane. I actually found myself steaming at the investigation team for the accusations they made at Sully, and the test footage they showed. It seemed as if they were robots rather than humans. This would be a fine narrative to go by, albeit probably not true (especially when the team feels they were misrepresented), except Eastwood doesn't let that happen. In the end, he shows that the team investigating Sully do have hearts. They just have to do their job, which is unfortunate, but it plays back into the theme of Sully "just doing his job". I don't see why they felt they were portrayed poorly in the film. I think (and this is the same argument I had for Eastwood's last film American Sniper) that it was all up to interpretation.

While Sully certainly rises to the occasion, it does fall flat in a few categories. Laura Linney's performance as Sully's distraught wife is particularly poor. I love Linney, and I truly believe that the way she acted is the way someone could act in that situation. But after the credits, you see the real Sully, his crew, and his family. And the real woman is so far from the Laura Linney performance that it's baffling. Another few times there was humor when there really shouldn't have been. That may have been intentional, but I often found myself cracking up at parts that didn't seem like it should have been humorous. The film also makes a point at going inside the lives of the survivors, and showing their side of the story alongside Sully's. They try to force some dramatic stories onto us, but none of them stick. They feel tacked on and useless next to Sully's. I understand why Eastwood wanted to portray all the sides to this story, but sticking with Sully would have been best. All in all, it's a very enjoyable movie that lacks in certain areas. I cannot express how much I enjoyed seeing Sully. Go see it, and see a wonderful story unfold.

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