Nominated For: Best Sound Mixing.
Sully tells the story and surrounding events of "The Miracle on the Hudson", the January 15, 2009 emergency forced water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River by Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenburger.
Clint Eastwood handles the controversy of Sully's actions with poise by interjecting multiple perspectives, eyewitness accounts, and the media backlash. Eastwood's proven he's capable of directing biopics about American heroes with American Sniper, but in this film he knowingly brings up the possibility Sullenburger endangering the passenger's lives instead of simply glorifying Sully's decision. Eastwood maintains an effective balance between the two opposing views of Sullenburger throughout the film's running time and the political controversy makes for an entertaining watch.
Eastwood ensures every thing feels real: the stakes, the crash, the rescue, and the surrounding circumstances. The water-landing sequence expertly crafted suspense that had me on the edge of the seat despite the fact I knew the outcome. The flight attendants yelling instructions to the passengers to brace for impact gave me chills every time I heard it. One strange creative choice however was the interspersed use of flashbacks to shed light on Sullenberger's previous aviation experience, as these scenes didn't enhance the narrative in any way and thus seemed irrelevant.
Todd Komarnnicki's screenplay does a great job keeping the story in shades of gray with no clear high moral ground or clear cut solution to National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of the events. I would have liked for Komarnnicki to delve more into Sullenberger's psyche and personal life but the attempts to do so are certainly commendable as scenes of Sullenberger's nightmares are understandably tense.
Tom Hanks' portrayal of Captain Sullenburger is one of the film's highlights as it's a subdued performance with inner complexities. Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney are both solid supporting players as copilot Jeff Skiles and Sully's wife Loraine respectively, although I would have liked to see more of Linney and her interaction between her and Hanks.
Overall, Sully serves as an interesting portrayal of American heroism thanks to Eastwood's direction, a fantastic performance from Hanks, and a solid supporting cast. I'd recommend it to those interested in the events or fans of Hank's work, otherwise you could probably skip out on Sully in favor of waiting for more worthy Oscar bait.
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