Movie Review - Sully directed by Clint Eastwood

When there is an airline tragedy anywhere in the world, there is usually a detailed investigation. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, played by Tom Hanks, was at the centre of one such investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation targeted Captain Sullenberger, using simulations of two available airports rather than what was an unplanned, but controlled, water landing on the Hudson River. Captain Sullenberger’s self confidence was badly shaken during the hearings. His entire forty year aviation career, and his personal integrity, was called into question based solely on the simulations. Clint Eastwood directed this movie, based on the autobiography, Highest Duty, showing not just the water landing but the hearings and the assault by the press insisting on writing the story of the controlled water landing. 

At an approximate altitude of 2800 feet, Airbus A320 hit a flock of Canada Geese. Both engines were disabled. On January 15, 2009, Captain Sullenberger brought US Airways Flight 1549 down on the Hudson River with 155 people on board, including himself, his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, played by Aaron Eckhart and two flight attendants. All one hundred and fifty people survived the dramatic water landing. Within 24 minutes, ferries, NYPD and the Coast Guard arrived and removed all passengers and crew to safety. Red Cross was on shore waiting to assist them.  

The general populace believed ‘Sully’ to be a hero. Charles Porter (Mike O’Malley) and his team at the National Transportation Safety Board seemed certain that he was not a hero but had made an error in judgement. Clint Eastwood directed the back and forth dynamic between two courageous men, Captain Sullenberger and Co-Pilot Jeff Skiles, and the National Transportation Safety Board. In this movie, the human factor, requiring spontaneous responses to sudden devastating events, is the turning point that restores some sanity.

“There’s simply no substitute for experience in terms of aviation safety.”

~ Chesley Sullenberger

Partial Cast
Tom Hanks - Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberg
Aaron Eckhart - Jeff Skiles
Valerie Mahafy - Diane Higgins
Delphi Harrington - Lucille Palmer
Laura Linney - Lorraine Sullenberger
Mike O’Malley - Charles Porter
Jamey Sheridan - Ben Edwards
Anna Gunn - Elizabeth Davis
Holt McCallany - Mike Cleary
Katie Couric - Katie Couric
David Letterman - David Letterman