A tricky case of Unintentional bird gobbling Well done

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2016)

Clint Eastwood's latest offering "SULLY" has been doing slam-bang box-office business in the USA since it is a well done Near Disaster film, and in a dark year of police shootings, other shootings, train crashes, and an upcoming election featuring candidates both of whom are likely to bring the entire nation to the brink of disaster, provides a ray of hope and something to feel good about --namely, the saving of 155 passenger lives when a quick thinking American pilot ditched his plane in the Hudson River after both his engines failed upon takeoff due to the unintentional ingestion of a flock of birds.
This is not one of Mr. Eastwood's masterpieces but it is a very well made film (as usual with Clint) with near documentary effect and, obviously, very user friendly. What Eastwood has set out to do --and very effectively accomplished -- is to remind a public with impaired short term memory of an act of American heroism that took place a mere seven years ago and received massive news coverage at the time, but was soon lost in the shuffle of News overload with which we are bombarded every day -- and basically forgotten. How many people, even if they vaguely remember the event, can recall the name of the pilot who almost miraculously saved the lives of all of the 155 passengers aboard his plane when the plane was disabled upon takeoff from Laguardia in New York, by steering it powerless straight over Manhattan, managing not to crash into one of the towering skyscrapers, and safely ditching the aircraft in the icy waters of the wintry Hudson? The date was January 15, 2009, and the quick thinking pilot was Chesley Sullenberger -- not an easy name to remember -- but his nickname "Sully" is one that stays with you. So Clint has wisely chosen to name his picture just that and cast the best man in Hollywood for the job of playing Scully, Tom Hanks. Hanks sporting snow white hair in the picture is the right age -- 59 during the shoot whereas Sully was 56 in 2009 -- and nobody is better at playing men with a troubled conscience and constant pained expression. Following in the heels of last year's "Bridge of Spies" Tom has just about cornered the Pained Expression for a Whole Picture market. And he is actually believable doing it even if sometimes gets to be a bit much.
Among other things Sully is a detailed process film about the piloting of airliners, but it is also much more. Most of the film actually takes place outside of the cockpit revealing Sully's struggle to justify his courageous act before a relentless board of inquiry trying to prove that he had other choices, such as landing at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill the investigation that was unfolding, and takes up the bulk of the picture's running time, was threatening to destroy his reputation and his career which adds a dimension of courtroom drama to the whole. In the end we find out he made the only decision possible after the plane was disabled shortly after takeoff when a flock of birds were swept into both engines knocking them out of commission. These scenes are white knucklers that put you right into the cockpit with Hanks and the co-pilot, Aaron Eckhart -- in a highly commendable supporting role. Another important role is that of his wife (Laura Linney) who is often on the phone with him with words of anxious support as he walks the streets of Manhattan having nightmares in broad daylight of the plane under his control not making it to the river but crashing into a building in a blaze of inglory. The scene in the river with a real plane floating precariously in the icy waters half submerged and the passengers lined up on the wings waiting for rescue teams to arrive must have cost a fortune to make and is so well mounted it looks like archival footage. Fall into the water and you're dead in a minute! -- even though we think we know the final outcome it's suspense all the way. Clint really knows his business and his new film is definitely a winner with various Oscar possibilities down the line, maybe even a third Oscar for Mr. Hanks. At age 86 Clint Eastwood, director, Is not looking back and shows no signs of slowing down. In that department I would consider him to be my role model.
Ps: Tom Hanks is a lineal descendant of Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln -- No wonder he has such an incorrigibly honest look!