It’s the story of how Captain Cresley “Sully” Sullenberger maneuvered his damaged jetliner into the Hudson River without any loss of life.
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Much like his other directorial efforts such as Million Dollar Baby and American Hustle, Clint Eastwood’s Sully is centred on heroism – a very specifically American type of heroism, including its complex and gray connotations.
Standering had seen the movie’s official trailer but hadn’t drawn any impressions from it, “other than I knew it was going to be really hard to watch”, she said.
Sitting next to him through both the harrowing ordeal and subsequent federal investigation into the incident is Aaron Eckhart as the plane’s co-pilot, Jeff Skiles.
They were on the Charlotte-bound flight that made an emergency landing on the Hudson river in New York City.
“We’re not the KGB”.
But soon afterwards, Sully’s life is invaded by reporters and investigators who force Sully to put his job, family and reputation on the line. And there was a moment when he realized, ‘This plane is not going to make it back to LaGuardia [airport]. Barely three minutes into the flight, disaster strikes, the Airbus A320 hits a flock of Canada Geese, which cripples both engines of the A320. We transition to 1980 and his short-lived sitcom Bosom Buddies immediately followed by the difficulties on set while filming his Oscar-winning performance in Forrest Gump. Was he having problems at home? But the occasional blips of post-traumatic stress that Eastwood serves up seem more like concessions to reality rather than explications of Sullenberger’s inner life.
In the film, First Officer Skiles, played by Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Olympus Has Fallen) accompanies the veteran pilot through his disbelief of the event’s aftermath, while continuously defending his actions against the NTSB. Pilot union officials representing them were present during all the interviews and at later public forums.
“It’s something that they made look real, sound real, and feel real to those of us involved in it”, Sullenberger said. “We weren’t out to embarrass anybody at all”.
“Extra’s” AJ Calloway caught up with Clint Eastwood at the premiere of “Sully” in NYC, where he asked the director about his support of Donald Trump for President.
The real-life accident investigators are concerned the film gives the public the wrong impression of the NTSB’s meticulous examination process of any crash, meant to make safety recommendations to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Some former NTSB investigators criticize the movie, saying it nearly paints them as villains. The movie accurately portrayed the events of that day, without overdoing the Hollywood treatment, she said. He said he’s also been impressed since then with how Sullenberger has used his fame to promote aviation safety.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing”, Gross said.
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“It’s one of the best things that ever happened- gave me perspective”. It’s a role that Hanks says he couldn’t turn down, even though he had been working practically non-stop for about six years, and was looking forward to taking some time off. Hanks embodies the role and when you see him onscreen, you don’t see Hanks, you see Sully.
