Real heroism does not always mean glory and parades

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2016)

Real heroism does not always mean glory and parades. Sometimes it consists of simply doing what works – getting the job done in a way that those affected will always be grateful. Such a hero is Chesley Sullenberger, a US Airways pilot whose presence of mind, competence and good judgment saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew when he landed his stricken plane in New York's Hudson River in 2009, an episode known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." This miracle is celebrated in 86-year-old director Clint Eastwood's Sully, based on Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. Written by Todd Komarnicki, the film stars Tom Hanks ("A Hologram for the King") as the calm, unflappable Sully and Aaron Eckhart ("Courage") as his supportive co-pilot Jeff Skiles.
Eastwood and cinematographer Tom Stern establish the tension early. We see the Captain and co-pilot go through their pre-takeoff checklist and witness the takeoff and the passengers on US Airways Flight 1549, en route from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Charlotte, North Carolina, settling back for a long flight. Six minutes after takeoff, however, the plane is hit by a flock of geese, crippling both of its engines at an altitude of only 2,800 feet. While we know the eventual outcome, Sully's agonizing decision to land the plane in the frigid Hudson River after realizing he could not make it to the nearest airport is a heart-pounding sequence.
While Eastwood succumbs to some disaster clichés with frightened parents holding onto their screaming children, the evacuation, for the most part, is done with restraint and the rescue by boas and ferries in the vicinity is expertly handled. The crash sequence (shown several times during the film) is interspersed with flashbacks to Sully's early life, his present-day nightmares, and phone calls to his anxiety-ridden wife Lorraine (Laura Linney, "Mr. Holmes"). Much of the film's drama centers around the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing in which board members played by Mike O'Malley ("Concussion"), Jamey Sheridan ("Spotlight"), and Anna Gunn ("Equity") question Sully's decision to land in the river, suggesting that the second engine was still functional enough for him to bring the plane back to LaGuardia or fly to nearby Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. If their assessment is the correct one, it would lead to a damaging verdict of "pilot error."
The NTSB uses computer simulations to try to prove their case but Sully tells them that, "Simulations take all humanity out of the cockpit." On questioning, Sully learns that the "sim" pilots needed as many as seventeen practice sessions and he asks that 35 seconds be entered into the calculations to reflect the human equation. It is no secret that the real NTSB has disputed the prosecutorial manner in which the hearings are portrayed, saying that they were only seeking information in an objective, professional manner, a description that incidentally Sully Has agreed with. Tom Hanks is the perfect choice to play Sully. Though beleaguered with stress, self-doubt, and media hounds, his humanity and strength of character come through, allowing the film to deliver a believable message of human resourcefulness in the face of sudden crisis.
Though Sully is portrayed as a conventional, solid-citizen type, in reality he had the courage to step up at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's subcommittee on aviation on February 24, 2009, telling them that, after flying almost 20,000 hours for 29 years, his decision to remain as a professional airline pilot came at a significant financial cost. His pay, he said, "has been cut 40 percent, my pension, like most airline pensions, has been terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar." "I am worried," he went on, "that the airline piloting profession will not be able to continue to attract that best and the brightest.  If we do not sufficiently value the airline piloting profession and future pilots are less experienced and less skilled, it logically follows that we will see negative consequences to the flying public––and to our country." Telling the truth is another attribute of a true hero.