SULLY

US, 2016, 95 minutes, Colour.
Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Jamey Sheridan, Mike O' Malley.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.

Many of us will remember the story from January 2009 from New York City, the plane that landed on the Hudson River, safely, with no loss of life. Many will remember that the nickname of the captain was Sully, and his name was Capt Chesley Sullenberger. Here is the story.

We are used to aviation stories on screen. We are used to aviation danger stories on screen. we have seen many many crashes. This is the opportunity to see a plane coming down and not crashing, as Capt Sullenberger insists to the examination board, of a plane not going into the river, but a plane on the river. There is a linguistic difficulty of saying landing because we don’t have a word for this kind of event like watering…

And who better to portray this serious gentleman of the year, clear-thinking, calm-reacting pilot with 42 years flying experience, from farm planes, military, to commercial airlines, and Tom Hanks? With white hair and moustache, he has a rather patrician bearing as he goes about his work, as he saves the day, helps in the orderly evacuation of the plane, is concerned about numbers of survivors, prepares to go to a board examining what he did, challenging the information provided by simulations with similar data to what he experienced, hailed a hero by the media and by passers-by in the street – and, ultimately vindicated and praised.

Speaking of the elderly and their abilities, the film has been directed by Clint Eastwood at the age of 85, along an exceptional career not only in performance but in film direction, winning two Oscars, and, since his 70th birthday, providing a long list of top cinema entertainments.

The structure of the film is something of a challenge, starting with Sully and his dreams of what might’ve happened, memories of 9/11 only seven and a bit years earlier, introducing the character, the appearance before a board, flashbacks about his past, and phone calls to his wife – Laura Linney with sequences only on phone calls. The actual experiences kept to the middle of the film the actual experiences kept.

Capital happened rather quickly, the plane taking off from La Guardia airport on its way to shop Charlotte, North Carolina, almost immediately running into a flock of birds, the engine is failing, altitude lowering, contact with flight control and recommendations to return to the airport or tried landing in New Jersey, with Sully estimating that the safest thing was to try to go down on the river. As he says at the end, the whole episode was saved by the combined work of his co-pilots, played by Aaron Eckhart, the flight attendants who keep their calm, the cooperation of the passengers in disembarking, the speedy response of Hudson River ferries, of helicopters and divers, rescuing people from the water, from the life rafts and the number of people standing on each wing.

The examination board is portrayed as rather severe on Sully, implying that he should have turned back to La Guardia and could have reached it, relying on several simulation exercises – But Sully reminds them that it was not a simulation but reality, that there was some time needed to weigh up the alternatives, something omitted by the simulations.

The film runs for only 95 minutes but it keeps the attention with its characters, especially Sully, with the media response, Sully becoming a hero on an ordinary working day in the US, the reconstruction of the flight and the response of authorities, the public and the media.

1. Audience knowledge of the incident on the Hudson River? Information, characters, aviation background, the role of the media, the official enquiry?

2. The contribution of Tom Hanks, his status in Hollywood, the elderly statesman presence? Clint Eastwood, his career, directing this film at age 85?

3. A true story, the appearances of media personalities like Katie Couric and David Letterman as themselves? The coverage of the incident, the interviews? The actual personages including Sully and their appearing during the final credits?

4. Audience response to stories about planes and aviation, passenger safety, pilot experience – 42 years, crop flights, military flights, commercial flights, a safety record? The possibilities for accidents, birds? The training for accidents, the role of the pilots, the flight attendants, the failure of engines, the role of flight control? The human element and human decisions – and the timing?

5. Introduction to Sully, his nightmares, the plane flying through central Manhattan, the echoes of 9/11?

6. Sully, his age, his experience as a pilot, the flashbacks? Called before the boards, the panel, critical, the grilling, the implications of failure? The reaction to his appearances on media? His requests for access to the simulation screenings, his putting pressure on friends? The simulation hearings, Sully being calm, Jeff and his support?

7. The personal aspect of Sully’s life, the phone calls to his wife, details of life, her fears, his daughters? The financial situation?

8. The media and the response, making him a hero, the replays, the interviews, for and against, the David Letterman show?

9. Sully and his anxiety, in the hotel, going for the walk, with Jeff, the run? Going to the bar, the bar keeper recognising him, the naming of a drink after him? Goose with a dash of water? His memories, the training, the 42 years, remembering the plane and the preparation for the trip to Charlotte, the glimpses of passengers, the elderly, the father and his two sons, arriving just in time?

10. The focus on flight control, the handler, his concern, his being in the room and not knowing about the success?

11. The audience seeing the actual episode in the middle of the film, the effect? Take off, the destination, an ordinary flight, the sudden encounter with the flock of birds, the engines, fire, disabled, loss of altitude, the role of the wings, contact with flight control, their advice, the alternate landing strips in La Guardia and New Jersey? Sully and his decision about the river? Landing (rivering/watering) on the river? The passengers, their fears, the flight attendants, urged to brace, the lights going out, on the water? The water coming in? January, the cold, the temperatures? So few hurt? The orderly getting out, life rafts, some passengers in the water, the helicopter rescues? Standing on the wings? The role of the ferries, the pilots and the crew? Saving everyone? The speed with which the operation was completed?

12. The role of the authorities, the mayor of New York, the union representative? Sully, wet, concerned to know the survival numbers? At the hotel, the welcome reception, clothes, things being brought, getting ready for the hearing?

13. The hearing, the importance of the simulations, the return to La Guardia, the board and the public hearing reaction? Sully contradicting, talking about the human element, the time for decisions? The adding of 35 seconds to the simulation, the pilots and their 17 attempts for the simulation? The ultimate failure, reactions? The board, the congratulations? People’s acclaim?

14. American heroics on an ordinary weekday and its effect?