‘Sully’ one of Eastwood’s strongest directorial efforts

Tom Hanks is no stranger to starring in biographical films in which he is placed in harrowing situations: he brought a damaged rocket successfully to earth in “Apollo 13,” outwitted Somali pirates invading his tanker in “Captain Phillips,” and led an escape from a daycare in the dangerous clutches of Lots-O’-Huggin Bear in “Toy Story 3.”

Now, he can add Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger to his list of real-life heroes in “Sully,” which provides a dramatic narrative of the historic Hudson River landing of a commercial plane in which every one of its 155 passengers survived.

Told with economic efficiency by Clint Eastwood, there is little fat to be found in its lean 96-minute runtime. So little, in fact, that were it not for the sturdy, stoic performance of Hanks, along with the always-reliable Aaron Eckhart as his co-pilot Jeff Skiles, there would not be much else to view.

Despite an interesting start that gives audiences a glimpse of Sullenberger’s post-incident mind, don’t look to “Sully” to delve into its lead’s psyche. Eastwood is not interested in biographical layovers. We get a brief glimpse of a young Sullenberger’s first flight - spoiler alert! He always wanted to be a pilot! - and a few moments when he calms his wife (played by Laura Linney) in the media circus that followed (always by phone; the two never share the screen together).

The crash itself occupies but a few minutes, broken up throughout the film. So the narrative thrust of “Sully” is in the form of members of the National Transportation Safety Board, who are fishing for holes in Sullenberger’s story, despite the fact that every person survived. They poke and prod at the unflappable pilot, but he’s as resolute in his reasons for landing in the icy river as he is methodical as a pilot.

As it stands, as heroic as Sullenberger is, he’s just not that interesting as a film lead. This is not meant to knock the esteemed airman; it’s just that, as Eastwood lays it out for us, he is just a simple man who overcame astronomical odds.

Luckily, we have national treasure Hanks as the lead, who adds such a low-key strength to the role, you might not appreciate just how nuanced it is in the moments that matter, like when he’s being grilled by the government officials and is left alone with his thoughts.

Equally as invaluable is Eckhart, whose frustration of the landing being called into question are much more evident. He’s the one who provides much-needed comic air into the room during Sullenberger’s stare-downs.

But outside of these two and the shared emergency landing sequence, there is little in “Sully” that elevates it to big-screen drama. Eastwood’s selection of passengers on which to give a slight backstory is curious at best and adds little to the unfolding drama. And Sully’s time spent between hearings and interviews fail to leave the runway.

All that said, this is one of Eastwood’s strongest efforts in quite some time, and his choice of subjects to cinematically lionize feels truly deserving, even if their simple personal lives might not provide enough material for a blockbuster.

This is not to say Sullenberger should be painted as some skirt-chasing, boozing, flawed hero, but perhaps next time Eastwood could select a screenwriter who could better connect the protagonist’s simplicity with the enormity of his heroics.