Quiet Man Caught in a Loud Story

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2016)

"Sully" is a very fine if not quite great film "for grownups" about Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), who, on Jan. 15, 2009, attempted an emergency landing on New York's Hudson River after the US Airways Flight 1549 he was commanding struck a flock of geese.
Miraculously _ too miraculously, some FAA investigators believe _ all of the 155 passengers and crew survive the harrowing ordeal, and Sullenberger becomes a national hero in the eyes of the public and the media.
However, despite the accolades, and away from the adoring public, the pilot faces a wrenching investigation that threatens to destroy his career and reputation.
Director Clint Eastwood demands, and gets, natural, realistic performances from his actors, top to bottom, in a film shot in an almost-throwback semi-documentary fashion.
In his typical understated, signature master-storytelling style, Eastwood successfully explores a sobering backstory about the rigors and costs of sudden-found fame, with a subtle indictment of the media and its rush-to-judgment approach that too often becomes a catalyst of the story it's covering.
One of Hanks' best, and Aaron Eckhart, in a welcome relief from menacing villains he plays so well, is excellent as his supportive co-pilot. Laura Linney is her usual superb self as Sully's wife, who tries to manage the ups and downs of the family crisis on the home front while her husband is away.
Enlightening and entertaining, with no dead spots. Well worth your time.