Sully gives us a glimpse into what exactly happened on that fateful day in 2009, and the battle that ensued long after the passengers were safe and warm in their beds.
Like many others, I expected Sully to show what happened both in the cockpit and on the plane that fateful January morning more than seven years ago, but I didn’t know the rest of the story. Seeing the blame and shame that the investigation into the incident had the potential to bring to Sully and his co-pilot opened my eyes to just how warped our sense of gratefulness is. This man successfully saved 155 lives. It shouldn’t have mattered how he went about it, or what could have happened, but that’s entirely what this movie is about.
There’s a lot to love about this movie, and I recommend seeing it to understand just how harrowing both that day and the investigation that followed were for the two men who literally held the fates of 155 people in their hands and how their skills allowed them to thrive under the enormous pressure.
Strengths
The perfect way to open the film
We all know the story of Sully and the 155 people he saved that fateful morning on the Hudson River. We also know how this story ends, so I could not imagine a more perfect way to bring a little surprise and shock to Sully than to start with what could have happened.
If Chesley Sullenberger had chosen to try for either the LaGuardia or Teterboro airports, things could have ended much more tragically for both the passengers on that plane and many other New Yorkers or New Jerseyans as well. Choosing to open the film with one of Sully’s nightmare scenarios ending in a fiery crash in the middle of Manhattan is one of the strongest storytelling moves the geniuses behind this movie could have possibly made.
Mike O’Malley
When telling a story like this, you need an opposing force, and a strong one. Enter Mike O’Malley’s character, Charles Porter, and the National Transportation Safety Board. Bureaucratic protocol in situations like these can often make heroes like Sully question their instincts and decisions, which is exactly what happens here. Mike O’Malley and his sidekicks in the NTSB were the perfect opposing force. They were hunting for human error and were determined to believe it would be found in Chesley Sullenberger.
While all of the members of the board were played excellently, Mike O’Malley’s character was the most haughty and overzealous about Sully’s potential guilt. O’Malley’s portrayal of a man hellbent on bringing down an American hero was compelling and infuriating in all the best ways.
Tom Hanks
For a movie like this one to succeed, you need one hell of a leading man. Tom Hanks was the perfect actor to take on this role. He perfectly embodied the stoic, inspiring pilot throughout all aspects of the ordeal with grace and poise.
During the re-enactment of that harrowing day, you see a man who has spent nearly 40 years in the sky take on the responsibility of saving 154 other people from what must have felt like certain death. He not only landed the plane in the water, but he refused to leave his ship until he himself checked the craft for passengers. Hanks does a splendid job of showing just how shocking and utterly terrifying their predicament was, as well as what it takes to confront people who want to find fault in your instincts.
Human error
Perhaps the strongest and more important scene in the film, the final hearing in which we see unrelated pilots successfully simulate landings at both nearby airports was particularly compelling. Seeing just how confidently Chesley Sullenberger and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles held their ground and truly stand firm in their convictions was astounding to behold. There may have been some discreet fist pumping in the theater.
Weaknesses
The personal storyline lacked impact
I must preface this by saying that this is a very strong movie. I at no point felt unengaged or checked my watch, neither of which happens all that often these days. However, no movie is perfect and there were a couple of items that could have made for an even stronger film.
While I agree that it’s necessary to include Sully’s family in the story about the crash and the investigation following it, the way they were included didn’t necessarily work for me. The movie didn’t focus on using his wife and daughters as his connection to the world outside of the investigation, but rather, they made them just one more stress point in Sully’s life. I’m certain that both parties were more than a little flummoxed in the days that followed, but hearing about their financial struggles amidst the circus of government officials drew me out of the drama just a little.
Perhaps the movie could have focused their interactions more, but it did little to add to the story. The drama lay in what was going on for these two heroes in New York, not elsewhere. The inclusion of these scenes didn’t detract much, but it did take away slightly from the overall enjoyment.
Ultimately
Sully is a movie about an unlikely American hero that successfully avoided disaster thanks to some quick thinking and years of experience in the air. This film is excellently crafted, written, acted, and its story is full of small moments that will touch your heart. Whether it’s Mr. Sullenberger greeting a familiar airport cashier in New York City on that fateful morning, or a father worrying fitfully about his son he was unable to sit near on the ill-fated flight, you will more than likely find your heart torn by these touching stories.