Sully

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Clint Eastwood/Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Jamey Sheridan, Anna Gunn, Laura Linney and Mike O'Malley

Chesley Sullenberger, or Sully, as he is known to his colleagues, performed a daring but necessary landing of a United Airways passenger jet on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 after a flock of Canadian geese disabled the engines. The fact that all 155 passengers, including flight crew, survived the ordeal is a testament to his awe-inspiring skills as an aviator. Though he is rightly considered a hero for his act, he nevertheless faced some scrutiny from the press and subsequently faced a National Transportation Safety Board inquiry for what was deemed a needless endangerment of passenger safety. The main focus of the hearing was his refusal to land at La Guardia Airport--where flight 1549 began--as an initial investigation claimed one engine was functional enough for an emergency return.

The historic flight and the investigation that followed is the subject of Clint Eastwood's Sully; which stars Tom Hanks in the titular role while Aaron Eckhart plays the co-pilot on the flight; Jeff Skiles. Eastwood's film isn't a drawn-out epic but a lean 90 minute drama. Though the harrowing flight is faithfully recreated and though the hearing yields some dramatic tension, the film seems pretty thin. Eastwood's film shows us the Hudson River landing was only the beginning of Sully's problems, but try as he might to make the hearings as compelling as the flight, his efforts unfortunately fail. The movie is entertaining enough but it rests on its adequacy rather than reaching for resonance.

The film doesn't begin with the actual flight but shows how the plane became crippled by a flock of geese, only a short time after take off. As the narrative moves in retrograde, the aftermath of Flight 1549 precedes the actual depiction of said flight.

As the story moves along, we see Sully's wife; Lorraine (Laura Linney, in a role that is notable for merely being that of an anxious wife at home, nothing more) is beside herself with worry as she learns about the ordeal after he instructs her to turn on the T.V. As we might expect, the media coverage becomes overwhelming, as does its presence on the Sullenberger front lawn.

We learn a little about Sully's piloting past as an Air Force pilot in a few flashbacks. A scene where Sully lands a technically compromised jet during a routine flight not only demonstrates his exceptional skill in handling aircraft but also shows he was hardly a novice when Flight 1549 went awry.

The film's most riveting sequence is the recreation of the flight itself, in which Sully ignores the air traffic controller's call for a return to La Guardia and the alternate suggestion of a landing at a New Jersey airport. The details are particularly fascinating, as we see the controller become nearly incapacitated with anxiety while on-board the plane, the passengers react with horror and bewilderment to Sully's "prepare for impact" warning. The actual landing, which is safely negotiated by Sully, is followed by another problem; the frigid waters of the Hudson River. We see the immediate and highly impressive response by the various New York disaster preparedness departments as they descend and converge on the floating plane to rescue passengers from the dangerously cold water.

The narrative, always maintaining its rapid pace, moves quickly from the near-disastrous landing to a courtroom, where Sully and Skiles face a NTSB inquiry. Needless to say, a guilty verdict threatens Sully's career. But we also see the positive response in the media and in the street, as Sully is received warmly by everyone who recognizes him. Among the well-wishers is a bartender; played by Michael Rapaport, who proudly serves Sully a drink named in his honor.

The outcome of the inquiry is hardly a mystery but the particulars of the "trial" are very interesting, specifically the numerous simulations that threaten to incriminate Sully and Skiles. Sully's request for key adjustments in the simulations, which allow for a more accurate picture of real flight conditions, dramatically alter the outcome of the proceedings.

Terrific performances by Hanks and Eckhart and an exciting recreation of Flight 1549 are two of the film's more salient attributes but the movie as a whole registers more as a stimulating history lesson than a gripping drama. It's hard to find fault with Eastwood's film but it's even harder to rhapsodize about it. I'll gladly see any Eastwood film release but unlike many of his recent efforts, this one rings hollow. No one can deny Sully's heroism but that may be one of the film's problems. His unassailable hero credentials leave little room for nuanced character exploration.

The film earns high marks for its technical accomplishments--the landing and the subsequent shots of the floating jet look quite authentic, as do the rescue efforts.

I can commend Eastwood for his high-mindedness in making Sully but nothing about it stuck in my mind Monday morning after a weekend screening. This is a story that needed to be told but it might be better served on a T.V. screen; where its modest ambitions will appear outsize.

American Sniper

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Clint Eastwood/Starring: Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller

Based on the book: American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History , Clint Eastwood's American Sniper is an intense, pulse-quickening drama detailing the life and war experiences of legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who was credited with over a 150 kills during his four tours of duty in Iraq.

Though we've seen many films about the Iraq war in recent years, including Kathryn Bigelo's excellent Hurt Locker, Eastwood's film claims its own distinction by offering us a biopic about a man dedicated to his deadly craft; who, like many who fought in Iraq, was scarred by the experience.

The film fritters little time immersing us in the action as we see an American tank with soldiers in tow entering a rubble-strewn town square. Straddled on a rooftop overlooking the scene is sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) with a spotter at his side. As he scans the square for possible threats, he sees a woman hand a child an explosive device. Hesitant to fire his rifle at the child, he receives consent from command to proceed at his own discretion. Unsure of the child's intent but concerned for the safety of the soldiers below, his finger begins to tighten on the trigger. The scene is a very effective opening sequence and it lays the dramatic groundwork for the combat we see later. Will he pull the trigger knowing he could, as his spotter warns, face a prison term in Leavenworth for an illegal killing? Eastwood knows enough, with his exquisite storytelling instincts, to defer the outcome.

How did Kyle become a skilled purveyor of death? A flashback shows him on a hunting trip as a child; his father at his side. Chris brings down a buck with his rifle, which leaves his father beaming with pride. After Chris carelessly drops his gun, his father offers advice about caring for his weapon.

Another scene from his childhood shows Chris delivering a vicious beating to a bully after his younger brother Jeff is bloodied in the schoolyard. Later, as the family is gathered at the table for a meal, his father lectures his sons about protecting one's own family after seeing Jeff's bruised face.

The film cuts to Chris as an adult, leading a rough and tumble life in the rodeo as a bronco-buster. After he returns home with Jeff (Keir O'Donnell), he finds his girlfriend in bed with another man. He forcefully evicts the man while his girlfriend angrily cites his constant absence as her reason for her infidelity. Shortly thereafter, he ejects her from the house too. Her complaints about Chris not being around carries some foreshadowing, for which we see why later in the film.

After watching a T.V. news report about a terrorist attack directed at Americans in Kenya, Chris' outrage and patriotic fervor move him to visit a local Navy recruiter, who suggests he test for the elite SEALS. Intrigued by the challenge, which requires almost superhuman physical and psychological stamina, Chris signs on. A sequence follows where we see he and other hopefuls endure torturous physical tests but he emerges from the ordeal a Navy SEAL. Immediately following, we see him on a firing range receiving specialized training as a sniper.

Hanging with the other SEALS at a local watering hole, Chris meets a beautiful woman named Taya Renae (Sienna Miller). Though Taya resists Chris at first, she warms to him, and before long, the two marry.

After watching news footage of the 9/11 attack, Chris' soldierly resolve is strengthened and in spite of Taya's anxiety, he is later shipped off to Iraq.

We return to the moment where Chris rests on an Iraqi rooftop, watching the child and mother handle a deadly explosive. The scene's hair-raising intensity marks the beginning of Chris' harrowing and often frightening four-tour service in Iraq.

Eastwood paces the story and the action masterfully; slowly building suspense with a first-person account of combat and all its extremes, which threaten the body and try the mind. We're never but an arm's length from Chris as he mans a sniper's nest or when he follows or leads ground troops in their operations, which involve perilous searches of Iraqi homes.

During his first tour, Chris learns of two dangerous antagonists who prove to be the ground soldier's bane; one, a highly skilled Syrian sniper named Mustafa (Sammy Sheik); formerly an Olympic gold medalist marksman and a brutal, sadistic warlord nicknamed The Butcher, whose capture is given the highest priority. Mustafa serves as Chris' arch-enemy and the film's principal villain. Both enemies prove to be slippery and elusive and their elimination provides the film (and maybe Chris) with a quest of sorts, which gives the story a nervy energy.

No less tense are the home-front scenes, as Chris' deployments begin to abrade his marriage. Complicating his relationship is his prolonged absence from his children and his wife, who he seldom sees.

The theme of protection introduced earlier in the film is restated, as Taya recognizes Chris' motive for returning to combat is borne of a brotherly, protective feeling he has for the troops as that he once showed for his brother.

It isn't long before the tours begin to take their toll on Chris' mental health and behavior, which don't escape Taya's notice. The film handles the home-front anxieties and PTSD quite effectively. We get a sense of the effects of combat stress when certain sounds, like a neighborhood lawnmower, draw Chris' attention for reasons we can immediately identify. We also feel Taya's frustration as her repeated attempts to fathom Chris' emotional state prove fruitless. But in spite of marital problems and frequent absences, the irresistible pull of combat and duty beckon Chris. The audience is also aware of the lingering threat Mustafa and The Butcher pose to the ground troops.

The combat scenes are brilliantly directed. Though it is reasonable to expect audiences to experience fatigue from so many films and documentaries about the experiences of American soldiers in Iraq, Eastwood demonstrates that the subject has yet to be exhausted. This is achieved by Eastwood's maestro-like command of the material and some outstanding editing by long-time Eastwood collaborator Joel Cox and co-editor Gary Roach.

Bradley Cooper is exceptional, more so when we consider he isn't the most obvious choice for the role of a Navy SEAL sniper. His performance stretches his boundaries as an actor, which leads me to believe he is up to any dramatic challenge. I must say Sienna Miller has the tougher task of making the home-front as gripping as the battle scenes. Though the anxious-wife-at-home is a staple of most American soldiers-in-Iraq dramas, she manages to make her lonely suffering compelling, particularly in one scene where she overhears the sounds of combat while talking to Chris on a cellphone.

Aside from one character questioning the war's meaning, the film avoids the morality of the War, which makes sense. The story is about a deadly sniper and Navy SEALS are usually the last to question our nations motives for waging war. As for Chris' moral response to his 150 kills, we hear him say to a therapist that god will judge him for his actions.

As Chris' reluctantly wears the mantle of hero for his unheard of kill count and for saving the lives of many soldiers, the horrors of war finally weigh on him. And the protective, god-like care for the troops that motivated him in his tours, is re-purposed in peace time, as he finds so many who have returned from the war--many worse off than he--need his help.

The ending is a shock; its cruel irony would seem so contrived if it weren't true.

American Sniper is a terrific film. I wasn't surprised to discover that it has resonance, and even day or two after seeing it, it still occupies my mind.

At 84, Eastwood shows not a mote of mellow in his storytelling. It is almost unheard of for a director of his maturity to stay relevant but here he is in 2014, doing the unexpected; making one film about Franki Valli and the Four Seasons and another about a famous sniper. He may well stay relevant into his 90s'. It's quite possible.

For now, we have this marvelous film to behold.

Jersey Boys

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Clint Eastwood/Starring: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza and Christopher Walken

I never saw the stage production on which Jersey Boys is based but one can discern its theater origins from its tone and its lack of fidelity to biographical imperatives. It gives us enough history for us to care about the characters but not the deeper probing of life and times one might find in say, Walk the Line.

On first seeing the trailer for the film, I thought maybe I was hallucinating when I read Clint Eastwood's directorial credit. He is far from an obvious choice to direct a film about Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. Eastwood has always been a jazz devotee; films like Bird and Straight, No Chaser (which he produced), reflect his personal musical passion so I was intrigued with his latest directorial choice.

Jersey Boys is more than the story of how Franki Valli (born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) and the Four Seasons rose to the top of the pop charts. It also gives us a glimpse of the rough and tumble world of New Jersey in the 50s' and 60s', specifically Franki Valli (John Lloyd Young) and fellow band member Tommy DeVito's (Vincent Piazza) connection to local mob man Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken). Sharply captured is the tightly-knit Italian-American culture, where loyalty is all but a sacrament, even when strained.

The story begins in the 50s' as a sixteen-year old Francesco (Franki) Castelluccio divides his time between working as a hairdresser during the day and singing in the evenings; his voice already a local sensation. His best friend Tommy is the frontman for a band that gigs in local clubs.

Tommy and some of the locals involve themselves in all sorts of crimes, often with Franki as the lookout. A funny scene where Tommy and some associates rob an establishment of a large safe while Franki watches for police is wildly amusing. The over-sized safe is placed in the trunk, which causes the front of the car to rise absurdly off the ground. As an alarm is set off, Franki is forced to drive the car with the upraised front obstructing his view, which causes him to crash through a store front window.

Both Franki and Tommy are loyal to Gyp, a sort of father-figure to Franki, who he looks out for while Tommy is treated mostly as an afterthought. Later in the film, Gyp's powerful influence, which Franki calls upon as an enormous favor, saves Tommy from a sizeable $500,000 debt. The debt is mostly shouldered by Franki, who refuses to abandon his friend to unimaginable punitive measures. Such a sacrifice, as we hear in one character's aside, is part of the Jersey code-of-honor.

The story is really, in essence, Franki and Tommy's relationship. The close, fraternal bond the two share sometimes is challenged by Tommy's brushes with the law which unfortunately often implicate Franki. Their relationship is grievously tested later in the film, as we see a strong bond under seige by resentments and Tommy's dangerous debt.

Before long, Franki joins Tommy's group though stardom continues to elude the band. A brilliant singer/songwriter Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) joins the group but rather than finding immediate success, the group is forced to sing back-up in studio sessions until Bob pens the group's first hit Sherry. The song places them on the pop charts, lands them a gig on American Bandstand and lays the groundwork for what will ultimately be a successful run in the 60s'.

I've never been a fan of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons though it's difficult to ignore their impact on the pop-music scene in the 60s'. But no matter, Jersey Boys is fun though hardly a significant addition to Eastwood's 21st century oeuvre. The performances, particularly Lloyd Young's and Vincent Piazza's, are solid and affecting. Piazza almost steals the show; his charm and menace make the perfect contrast to Franki's more unassuming, non-confrontational disposition.

Eastwood's camera-compositions, never fussy nor demanding attention, mostly fix on actors rather than settings, making the story more character-driven. The characters' occasional asides to the camera provide some commentary or illuminate motivations--an idiosyncrasy one can easily imagine being retained from the stage production. Inter-band strife--members threatening to quit or forming secret agreements--always seems inevitable. Ultimately, Bob and and Franki become a team; landing a hit with the now classic Can't Take My Eyes off of You

Though entertaining, there is something vaguely unsatisfying about the film. The story lacks historical context; we see the band score hit after hit but we don't get a sense of when and how. We also don't get a sense of the importance of the band's music in rock history, as if it all happened in a vacuum. We see the band arriving at Radio City Music Hall to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a scene leaping forward to the early 90s' but so what? To whom did their music matter? In my high school days back in the early 80s', their music seemed Paleolithic though music from other bands and performers from the band's heyday were still heard on classic rock radio (and still are). Luckily the relationships between the bandmembers and the colorfully drawn Jersey personalities make us care about the people, if not the music.

I didn't leave the movie humming any of The Four Season's songs but I took note of the performances; enjoying the film in spite of its shortcomings. Jersey Boys might not dazzle, but it is a welcome change from the non-stop demolition seen on most Summer movie screens.