A crackling performance by Tom Hanks dealing a powerful incident with operational efficiency

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2017)

It is difficult to forget the positivity and heartwarming end to some powerful events that we come across in our daily life or through the media and 'Sully' covers one such event which consoled the world that not every bad incident would end in a tragedy. While the incident is still powerfully etched in our minds due to its coverage, this movie tries to cover the human aspect and behind-the-scenes events from the perspective of the man who made this possible - Captain Chesley Sullenberger.
On 15th January, 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 (Airbus 320-214) took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport with the experienced and sure-handed Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) at the helm along with his First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles (Aaron Eckhart). Three minutes into take-off, the flight was hit by a flock of Canada geese leading to the shutdown of its engines and flight losing its thrust. Using all his experience as a flight safety expert, glider pilot as well as his instincts, Sully landed the plane on the River Hudson without any casualties despite instructions to return to the source airport or the other nearby options. An inquiry was ordered by NTSB whose initial evaluation through flight simulators suggested that it would have been possible for the flight to have made it back to LaGuardia airport. With evidence mounting against him, can Sully come out of this serious accusation of endangering lives of all the passengers and crew aboard the flight.
It is impossible to not draw comparisons with a similarly themed Robert Zemeckis's movie 'Flight' which also deals with a freak and impossible crash landing followed by an investigation. The major difference apart from one being fiction is the melodrama quotient. 'Sully' deals the entire episode with operational efficiency without bringing in emotion where it was not necessary. The surprising and overwhelming nature of the situation that doesn't have a precedence is well countered by the experience, maturity and confidence of the Captain who is a veteran of thousands of flight hours and air-crash investigations - aptly portrayed by Tom Hanks. The way Sully is shown to conduct himself in this extraordinary situation makes you respect the real man even more. While the focus is mostly on Sully, Aaron Eckhart shows his quality by making his presence felt without actually having to force it in. One more interesting segment is how Sully deals with the situation on the personal front with his wife Lorraine (Laura Linney) while speculating possible outcomes from the impending investigation.
Apart from the leads, Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad fame) also gives a nuanced performance as Elizabeth Davis, an NTSB panel member who was heading the investigation. Rest of the cast gives an apt performance despite just being in the background. Coming to the technical departments - the visual effects of the crash looks natural, the screenplay makes the events more interesting by non-linear flip-flopping between the incident and the investigation. However the final hearing of the investigation is hurried to bring the revelations hastily in a day which in reality would have taken weeks to conclude. Despite its short runtime, it sometimes felt repetitive and dragging occasionally. Age seems to be just a number for director Clint Eastwood who has maintained relevance and quality in his second innings (last 10-15 years) which is a stark contrast of the genre for which he was a superstar for decades previously.
A crackling performance by Tom Hanks dealing a powerful incident with operational efficiency.