Sully dramatizes the emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in January 2009, after a flock of birds knocked out both engines of the Airbus A320. The film centres on captain Chesley Sullenberger and first officer Jeff Skiles, and on what followed: the media attention, the strain on his family and the doubts that arose about his decisions. The story pairs the event with hearings held by the National Transportation Safety Board, where the pilot must defend his account against those who question his judgement. The approach stays with the investigation and the inner life of its protagonist, without revealing how those proceedings end.

How it was made

The project draws on Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty, written with Skiles and published in 2009. Producers Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart optioned the rights in 2010 and hired Todd Komarnicki to write the screenplay. Sullenberger wanted the film to convey a sense of shared humanity, a theme that resonated after the 2008 recession. Komarnicki found the real challenge was not the landing, which everyone knows, but the slow toll the ordeal took on its hero as the public celebrated him. Tom Hanks leads the cast, alongside Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney and Anna Gunn, and Katie Couric and David Letterman appear as themselves. Principal photography began on 28 September 2015 in New York City and moved through Atlanta, Los Angeles, North Carolina, New Mexico and Kearny. Tom Stern's cinematography was shot almost entirely on digital IMAX cameras. The film was framed with IMAX in mind, though standard theatres received it in 2.39:1. Clint Eastwood's direction is restrained, avoiding spectacle in favour of quiet detail.

Reception and legacy

Critics gave the film generally positive reviews, and it grossed more than $240 million worldwide. It also drew controversy for its portrayal of the NTSB as prosecutorial and closed-minded, a caricature some felt went too far. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute both named it among the ten best films of 2016. At the 89th Academy Awards it earned a nomination for Best Sound Editing. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 2 September 2016 and reached American cinemas on 9 September. Its legacy rests largely on turning a well-known event into a study of professional responsibility and public pressure.