By Teri Bayus
I was skeptical about a plane movie filing 90-minutes of theater time. But with all amazing events, there is a story before, during and after. Director Clint Eastwood film, “Sully,” gives us a balanced look at a hero doing his job respectably.
Sully opens with Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (played by Tom Hanks) having a PTSD-induced, 9/11-reminiscent vision of a plane crashing into a Manhattan skyscraper. This is the “What-if” scenario that haunts the titular hero after successfully landing the engine-blown Flight 1549 on the chilly, Hudson River, and miraculously saving all 155 souls onboard.
As he snaps back into reality, we will soon learn that the “untold story” lies on the aftermath of the averted tragedy.
One of the picture’s most valuable contributions to the saga of the “Miracle on the Hudson” is that the event was not a plane crash, but a successful forced water landing.
Capt. Sullenburger appropriately called for that distinction more than once during his insightful, soul searching, and more significantly, in front of the NTSB review board. That’s where the real drama took place, separate and apart from the tense moments on board the ill-fated United Airways flight.
Hanks shines in this perfectly tailored role of a brave, diligent and sturdy American hero facing against insurmountable odds. It’s already a cliché thing to say that Hanks is a brilliant actor, but what I like about this performance is that it does not scream of, “I’m a great actor! Give me an Oscar!”
He can be minimal in his acting. During an intense, bird-engine collision scene, he stoically yells “Birds!” and still, he sells us a nuanced depth into the character. The same can be said to the underrated, Aaron Eckhart, who plays co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, the funny guy who mocks the things that Sully is often too nice to say. He earns the film’s final laugh.
You’ve got to hand it to Clint Eastwood. He is 86-years young and still giving us fantastic movies, better then most directors out there. This is a good film for the whole family. Go see it at Fair Oaks Theater!
