Sully, in theaters Wednesday, is the new film by Clint Eastwood, worn by Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart. The film tells the true story of airplane pilot Sully Sullenberger, who, on January 15, 2009, saved his passengers by landing on the Hudson River (a river in New York State). However, while he was quickly considered a hero by the media and public opinion, an investigation was opened that threatened to tarnish his career.
Sully fuels the madness of biopics:
Biopics, in other words feature films that focus on a recognized personality, are very fashionable. Some remain legitimate and interesting, for example Oliver Stone's recent Snowden really brings something, and appears very rooted in the current social situation. Yet the story of Sully did not necessarily deserve a film in its own right, and this is reflected in the staging of Clint Eastwood. Lacking material, the filmmaker does not have much to tell, and is content to stage a short film (barely 1h30), where the information is not legion and which turns very quickly empty. Sully is a film with boring classicism, where the disjointed and superficial editing sometimes gives the impression of dealing with a TV movie about plane crashes that sometimes airs on France 5.
The photography, the rhythm, the transitions do not give a cinematic effect to the feature film. Clint Eastwood goes around in circles to such an extent that he brings out to his audience the scene of the crash many times. Sully conveys the same feeling as the recent Truth, carried by Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett, a relatively interesting feature film but terribly bland, empty and without real legitimacy. Clint Eastwood seems to have shipped his film without really investing himself completely in its construction, relying on the saving presence of Tom Hanks.
A film that rests totally on the shoulders of Tom Hanks:
The father of Ruthless is known for his excessive patriotism, a true lover of the flag as revealed by his recent American Sniper. Sully is no exception to the rule and sometimes appears as a simple idealization of the United States. He highlights the courage of the pilot, the rescuers, affirming that these American heroes can only be American, as an evidence that appears moreover by excess of patriotism. Clint Eastwood does not take a step back, does not express doubts, does not apply the necessary nuance when dealing with a true story. This pilot is a hero, period.
Fortunately not everything is to be thrown in Sully, including the performance of Tom Hanks always very fair. This actor with a grandiose career continues to amaze us by interfering in his roles as a person, and always pouring out the subtle and necessary dose of emotionality to make his character believable and empathetic. He carries the feature film on his shoulders. The last scene of the accident, the longest, remains captivating. Less impressive than that of Zemeckis' recent Flight, it nevertheless appears more credible and more appalling. The viewer feels really concerned and powerless in the face of the crash to come, a muscular and perfectly controlled scene. A way to put the spectator in the shoes of the passenger and thus consider the commander as a true savior.
On the other hand, Clint Eastwood misses an interesting critical potential: he does not deal with the control of the media, with the way in which they can manipulate popular consciousness. Similarly, it does not focus enough on the functioning of the insurance system and the motivations behind the investigation against the pilot. Why try to destroy his career? The viewer obviously knows that it is a question of money, that the insurance companies want revenge after the destruction of an Airbus by the decision of the pilot and that the workings of this system remain complex. But Clint Eastwood touches on this fact that is fraught with meaning and fails to determine the beneficence of the pilot's decision in relation to the system in which he is trapped. As for the psychological aspect of the character, his treatment remains very superficial and carried by the clichés of the genre: the character who doubts, who can no longer sleep, who no longer knows if his decision was the right one or not. Clint Eastwood fails to give a real identity to his film…
Sully is thus a relatively empty film, which has little to tell and which exists only by the presence of its main actor: Tom Hanks.
