Sully (Hanks) miraculously lands a flight on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, after birds fly into the engines of his plane just moments after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. He is hailed as a national hero, even though he is not convinced that his actions are completely heroic. Sully suffers from nightmares and hallucinations shortly after. He also struggles in telling his wife (Linney) about the hearing proceedings and whether or not what he did was fully ethical.
After all passengers are accounted for, he and his First Officers Skiles (Eckhart) go through a series of hearings with the National Transportation Safety Board to discuss the logisitics of the landing, and how safe it was to complete such a maneuver. After numerous programs replicated the flight in simulations, the initial hearings ruled that Sully could have landed back at LaGuardia or Teterboro instead of putting 155 lives at risk. Disheartened, Sully feels guilty and believes that this tricky landing could be considered negligent and force him into immediate retirement with no pension.
Despite Sully recording the biggest debut for a Clint Eastwood film (as both and actor and director), the film has sparked a bit of a controversy with the National Transportation Safety Board hearings. Eastwood stated that the Safety Board "was trying to paint the picture that he had done the wrong thing." Investigations into the records of the hearing were done, and The New York Times wrote, "he film’s version of the inquiry veers from the official record in both tone and substance" and "depicts the investigators as departing from standard protocol in airline accident inquiries." In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board was rather impressed with Sully's landing.
Tom Hanks specifically asked that the names of those participating in the hearing on the Safety Board were changed. Their unfair depiction of damning Sully for his actions upset Hanks, and since the actual events didn't go that way, then the peoples' identities should be protected.
Where the flight had landed in the Hudson River scenes was where the big rescue scenes were filmed. You could practically feel how intense and cold those scenes were on the water. The hysteria and panic of the passengers was very real as well, since they had no idea what was going on shortly into their flight that required an immediate landing.
You can also truly understand the complicated position Sully was in throughout the hearings. Although media outlets highlighted his heroic acts, his conscience and the National Transportation Safety Board berated him.
Serial biopic star Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Charlie Wilson's War, etc...) definitely offers a performance the Academy would recognize for 2017's Best Actor category. During pre-production, Hanks met with Chelsey Sullenberger in order to get to know him as the modest and unexpected hero. Sully was impressed with his attention to detail and portrayal onscreen as far as mannerisms went.
The 96 minutes will captivate viewers from start to finish, as its nonlinear narrative draws you in. We don't actually see the big rescue happen until the film's halfway point. Overall, Sully is a must-see for anyone who can't wait for the Oscars Season boom, and anyone impressed with the Miracle on the Hudson. Since the events took place in 2009, it's interesting to watch as something we can remember happening in our everyday lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment