Day 174 - Sully

Day 174          Sully [2016]

                          

Screenplay                    Todd Komarnicki

Based on                       ‘Highest Duty’ by Chesley Sullenburger & Jeffrey Zazlow

Director                         Clint Eastwood

Cinematography            Tom Stern

Music                            Christian Jacob & The Tierney Sutton Band

Leads                            Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Mike O’Malley, Michael Rapaport

Production                     Village Roadshow Pictures, Flashlight Films, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Malpaso Productions

IMDb                                 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes                86%

If those of you in the Western world have been living above ground, you would have heard about the US Airways pilot who successfully landed his plane in the Hudson river in New York after both engines failed. It is the stuff of nightmares. Those moments when you get extreme turbulence during a flight and your brain takes you instantly to the worst-case scenario. You know. Something like plummeting into icy black waters during a night flight across the Atlantic. People rarely survive water landings and yet every single person on that flight survived thanks to the skill of Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenburger. That is what the film is about. Although it largely focuses on the inquest that went on in the aftermath of the crash. The airline didn’t want to lose a load of insurance money (and probably also didn’t want to be sued by any passengers) so they scrutinised the actions of Sully, claiming that he could have easily made it back to one of two nearby airports. It was a good angle to come at the film from, rather than just going through the turmoil of the crash. However, it could have been better. I felt no real pain or anguish from Hanks (who plays Sullenberger), perhaps because real-life Sully is not much of a character. He’s that old guy with morals who doesn’t necessarily seek the fun things in life. That’s what I took away from Hanks’ portrayal of him anyway. I just found it interesting as I didn’t really know what had happened, but that’s not great praise to get for a film. I find historical documentaries interesting. Not films. It’s just a good doc for a history teacher to put on in class to tell the story, just with high production value.

Acting                               3 / 4

Writing                           2.5 / 4

Cinematography             2.5 / 4

Music                                2 / 4

HWF rating                2.5 / 4