Miraculous true story, not so miraculous, albeit still very impressive, film

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2017)

The story of Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger landing a passenger plane in the Hudson River on 15th January 2009 is one that fascinates and inspires, it's a remarkable story and makes one show a lot of respect for a man rightly regarded as a hero.
'Sully' may not be a high point of either director Clint Eastwood or star Tom Hanks's careers (both having very highly regarded careers with great films and performances), it didn't blow me away and may have been better as a documentary. It is nonetheless very impressively done and on the most part is still a good film, with a lot of great elements as well as a few not so convincing ones, and its honesty and understatement are to be admired. It takes a remarkable story and mostly does do it justice, though it is not hard to see why not everybody will like it.
As well done the understated mood is, occasionally 'Sully' feels a little too muted even for what it's trying to portray. Other than the air, landing and rescue scenes, which are riveting and nail-biting, it does lack tension and some scenes are more compelling than others (the aforementioned air, landing and rescue scenes, Hanks in the bar and Hanks and Eckhart together for instances are more involving than any scene with the NTSB and Sully's wife).
Laura Linney does very well as Lorraine and handles the character with dignity and empathy, but the role is thankless and underwritten, on top of that her screen time is pretty limited, Linney deserves better than this. More of a problem was the stock villain portrayal of the NTSB, far too extreme and very heavy-handed. The ending does satisfy for all that roots for Sully at the start, though the outcome was very much foreseeable for anybody familiar with the story and compared to the more sombre understated feel of the rest of the film it felt somewhat pat.
Production values however are high. It is beautifully photographed with good use of locations and above average effects. The recreation scenes don't look too cheap either. Eastwood's direction is intelligent and admirably restrained. The music score is not the most unforgettable of ones, but it is still very well suited to the film's tone and wisely doesn't go over the top or feel anaemic.
It's a very thoughtfully written film too and treats its audience and subject matter with sensitivity and respect. The subtle dry humour from Eckhart's character is well judged and not misplaced as it could easily have been. The story is not a tense or exciting one, but it's dealt with honesty and deep humanity with some inspiring and powerful moments.
Hanks gives a master-class in grace, dignity and subtlety, holding everything together with great composure and telling a lot even with just his eyes. One really believes how much of an emotional toll being hailed as a hero but also being investigated has on Sully. Eckhart is sympathetic and provides some never overdone or too frequent dry humour that leavens things up. Linney does much with little and the rest of the cast do very well.
Overall, very impressive if not miraculous. 7/10 Bethany Cox