Sully (Review) ✈️

I've always been a fan of true story movies, especially when they have that little bit of writing at the end to give an update on where they are in their lives now and this is no different, but admittedly, in a completely different way.
If you haven't watched the trailer, click here or watch below now.
Sully tells the story of how Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a courageous pilot, safely lands his plane on the Hudson River in New York after it suffered from damage to both engines following a flock a geese flying into them. With intelligence, shear will, leadership and calmness, Sully makes the controversial decision. The remarkable fact that all his passengers got off unharmed and safely made it home isn't even the start of this story. When everyone's accounted for, the real story begins with the National Transportation Safety Board ("a panel of i-dotting, t-crossing killjoys") who hold an investigation into the landing. It then goes on to imply that Sully is not merely a hero for the way he landed the plane, but also for the way he stood up to the top bradogs afterwards. Very admirable.
Honestly, I was blown away by Hank's acting. It was silently emotional, a really powerful display and just perfect. The subtlety was superb and I thought it was a truly inspirational example of how a quiet hero should be displayed.
I felt like the film was very cleverly directed and deserves a huge round of applause. It didn't jump in with action shot after action shot. Instead, the film hung back, letting the audience experience just small moments at a time. Beginning with Sully's bad dreams and PTSD hallucinations before finally the event itself in a series of flashbacks presented during the official inquiry hearing, in which duplicitous managers try to blame Sully to cover their asses.

Because of this story telling mechanism, I didn't quite feel the excitement of a real crash nor the tenseness of the rescue but I thought it was a beautiful way to lead the story and make the hearing more entertaining and interactive.

As a side point, I think the bigger worry for me about future air travel is if a plane can really have a double engine failure brought on by a humble flock of geese?!
Despite the seriousness, there are some moments of recovery. The paparazzi break up the tension while the humour helps ease the tightness. The link to the 9/11 attack and the joke at the bar with a drink after Sully, "Grey Goose with a splash of water", add relief and humour and the sweet moments with his wife break up the seriousness.

I thought it was a really beautiful way to display such a powerful display in it's simplicity and without all the CGI effects to make everything seem bigger. The character spoke for himself and his simultaneously unassuming honesty yet completely authoritative characteristics sums up the perfect pilot.
I don't think anyone could have asked for a better pilot in an emergency. I was blown away by the calm and serene persona that was radiating from him during the whole situation. Yes, it was a portrayal of the character only based on a true story, but not many people would have had the courage to make a detrimental decision on such short notice with so many people against him.

I can only hope to bring the essence of his ability into my own job when one day making life or death decisions.

"Quiet, unfussy heroism of highly trained professionals doing their jobs in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. He was an ordinary man who was briefly extraordinary."

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