1 hr & 36 min, color, 2016
The badge of heroism is not always so easy to come by. So many who end up feted for valorous
behavior or courageous undertakings have to be proven worthy of the honor, in
some cases posthumously. “Sully” is the
true story of Chesley Sullenberger, the U. S. Airways pilot forced on January
15, 2009 to land his passenger plane in the Hudson River, with one hundred and
fifty-five on board including the crew, when both of his engines conked out
within minutes after taking off from LaGuardia; it seems a huge flock of birds
collided with the aircraft and killed the engines. He ended up doing what had never been done
before in the entire history of aviation – using a riverbed as a landing platform
for a jet. He has long since been
credited as a hero, but following his accomplishment he was subjected to
testing and debriefing and the overwhelm of publicity that proved just as
rugged as the ordeal in the air and on the water which he and his passengers
and crew had survived. Both the physical
and the emotional tolls for Sully and his copilot are portrayed in no uncertain
terms.
It is significant that the film begins with a nightmare in which
Sully finds himself back in the air, trying to pilot his craft in descent over
the New York skyline, the nightmare ending in his crash into one of the
skyscrapers. The flaming impact wakes
him up in a state of abject terror. He
deals with the dream’s aftermath by jogging through the Manhattan streets. What he is undergoing is a form of PTSD that
he has to carry with him for many days, made no easier by the grilling he has
to undergo from the flying commission’s panel.
The two airmen find themselves on the defensive about the decision that
was made at the moment of midair crisis.
Heroes it seems are not so easily recognized in present times,
when everything in officialdom is appraised with caution and skepticism, both
in government and in the private sector.
The challenge to derive something tense and exciting out of true
story material in which the inspiring outcome is already known at large is one
that few film makers seem to tackle anymore, but Director Clint Eastwood and
his fellow producers have taken on the job with very informative and satisfying
results. The incisive screenplay is the
work of Todd Komarnicki, based upon Sullenberger’s own book. One thing that helped make the adaptation a
success is the excellent casting of Tom Hanks as Sully. He seems to be one of those multi-dimensional
actors who can do no wrong; he has portrayed a plethora of characters during
his many years on the screen, and he never disappoints. His face always plays a major role in giving
the character visibility of body and soul.
I will never forget how his countenance conveys the sharp edge of quiet
incredulity when he hears that all passengers and crew members have survived
the ditching in the river. He does not
dance around or whoop and holler. He
barely even smiles. You know that he
wants to believe it is true, yet it takes him a few stubborn moments to ingest
the news and internalize it.
If that had been the end of his internal warfare, there would
scarcely be a story to tell. The most
trying days and hours, however, are yet before him, as his professional
reputation hangs in an uncertain balance and he is virtually required to be
guilty of negligence until proven innocent.
As Sully sees it, his three decades of safely flying passengers will be
practically worthless to his examiners; he knows history will judge him solely
for how he performed during what turned out to be only 208 seconds.
The crash and the rescue are enacted (in flashback of course) with
superb attention to detail. The
passengers know something is wrong when the plane’s main power goes out. The flight attendants must preside over near
panic, especially after the dreaded message comes from the captain to “Brace
for impact”. The attendants must keep
them all buckled up and bent over with heads completely down. Sullenberger has to call forth his trained
instincts and draw upon his years of experience and learning to make sure the
wings stay level and well balanced over the water; if one or the other dipped,
the plane would have flipped over and probably broken in half. In such a case it would have been a different
story; deaths would have been almost impossible to avoid, maybe many.
Once the aircraft has ceased moving and settled in upon the
riverbed, Sullenberger leaves the cabin at once and goes to his passengers with
the urgent request to disembark from the plane, as water begins to flood into
the aisles. He and the attendants manage
to get most all the people out onto the wings, though some activate the
emergency exits and slide into the freezing water.
What a blessing it was that the bird encounter took place where it
did – in the New York vicinity where rescue help was plentiful and speedy. The rescuers consisted of people who were
primed and ready to save lives and had the provisions for getting the endangered
passengers warm, and boating them out to the area to safety. I lost count of how many there were. I teared up a bit watching this display of
humanity coming to the willing aid of humanity.
Eastwood takes his time with these details, and I am so glad he
does. He does not go for spectacle; he
keeps the action intimate and heartfelt.
What we are so vividly reminded of in this narrative is the fact
that some decisions in this world must be made by only one person, even though
many lives are at stake. Sullenberger is
required to act solely on his own; it is a dilemma he has not asked for. The size of the flight crew, including the
copilot, and the many voices over the radio giving him information about
possible nearby airports where he might try landing was really of no help to
him in the final analysis. No one
outside that cockpit could possibly have known what it felt like to be faced
with his situation. It is the loneliest
place in the world to be. It is not the
kind of decision that he can take time discussing with fellow flyers; there is
no time to weigh options in preparation for something that awaits him with
hours or days to spare. He had to act
quickly. That kind of thing separates
the adults from the kids. At first I
found the panel’s digging to be harrowing for me to watch, but slowly I began
to see that walking through that hail of stones provided a chance to open up
this pilot’s heart and to place us all in that crisis, physically and
emotionally. It made the outcome that
much more sweet and cathartic.
Jeffrey Skiles, the copilot who stands with Sully and supports him
with great admiration is warmly portrayed by Aaron Eckhart. And though Sully and his wife (a marvelous
Laura Linney) never do more than talk over the phone, the bond between them
emerges as strong as if their encounter had occurred in the wee hours of the night in their
bedroom. You can feel how much their
arms ache for each other. Those hours of
separation while required to wait through the lengthy investigation must have
been the most trying they as a couple had ever experienced. Is it any wonder that Sullenberger retired
during the following year, wrote his memoirs and
concentrated on a new career as an international speaker on airline safety.
While our nation’s moral compass is being weakened by a near
despotic administration, this factual parable about true honor and idealism
could not come before us at a better time.
To read other entries in my
blog, please consult its website:
enspiritus.blogspot.com. To know
about me, consult the autobiographical entry on the website for Dec. 5, 2016.
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