Choices

Today is apparently my lucky day. My choice of parkrun and my choice of film.

To be honest, there isn’t much choice in films at the moment. In fact, at Broadway, there is no choice. Fantastic Beasts and United Kingdom are on, both of which we’ve seen. Star Wars is also on and Felicity Jones is cute but not that cute. So that leave Tom Hanks in Sully. Which is what L was going to suggest but didn’t because it was my choice...

My choice of parkrun is Markeaton but we are slow. Maybe because I had my work’s Christmas party last night or maybe because MD just isn’t up for it and stops for too many comfort breaks.

Then L has Pilates which we hot foot to via the sorting office to pick up a parcel.

I am then at home attempting to polish the unpolishable bathroom floor when we have a present delivery from L’s sister’s family.

Then it’s film time.

In January 2009 Captain Chesley Sullenberger (otherwise known as Sully) crash landed US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River after colliding with a flock of birds which knocked out both engines just thirty seconds after take-off. Incredibly the aircraft stayed afloat long enough for all 155 people on board to be rescued amidst very cold conditions.

From the moment the plane lost power there were only 208 seconds before it crashed. That’s not a lot of time to work with if you want to make a film. So director Clint Eastwood mainly focusses on the aftermath as Sully (Tom Hanks) deals with the resulting media attention and then, along with his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles (Aaron Eckhart), faces goes the National Transportation Safety Board who are investigating the incident. Although Eastwood also struggles to make a story out of that.

Oddly the investigation seems to take place immediately after the incident and we don’t even see Sully go home to his wife, Lorraine (Laura Linney), who we never actually see without a telephone attached to her ear. Neither she nor Sully seem very fazed by the fact he’d just been involved in a place crash.

The flight was bound from New York's LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte and the investigation asks whether the plane could have made it back to LaGuardia or to nearby Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Flight simulations allege that the plane could have successfully landed at both LaGuardia and Teterboro.

Sully however disputes this and argues that the ‘human element’ needs to be taken into consideration. This causes an immediate sea change in the investigation as if they’d never thought of something so bleedingly obvious. 35 seconds human reaction time is then allocated, the simulations are rerun, the planes crash and now Sully can officially be declared a hero. I’m sure it didn’t quite happen like that.

There is nothing particularly wrong with the film except that there isn't really a story here to tell. I’m also sure the NTSB’s investigation was more to ascertain the cause of the accident and to ensure it wouldn’t happen again rather than the total witch hunt against Sully as is portrayed here.

The crash landing into the Hudson was the story but they seemed to go out of their way not to make a disaster movie which is fair enough, we have had more than enough of them. Instead the story is so flimsy that the film wraps up in 90 minutes and that’s after they have needlessly shown the whole crash landing sequence twice.

I didn't know that much about this story beforehand so I went in hoping for more insight but didn’t learnt much. However there are some nice shots of the real Chesley Sullenberger at the end as they show film of the flight's reunion.

Afterwards it’s drinks in the Scribblers and Blue Monkey.

(Saturday 17^th December)

A Difference Of Opinion About God

We had considering doing a local 5k/10k at Burton Joyce today but we decide to skip it. L runs locally instead and I do the park with the boys.

In the evening we make the momentous decision to renew our Broadway cinema membership and also to make use of it. I vow to force L to see all this year's award nominees starting tonight with the Steven Hawkings film. We also eat at Broadway.

The film is a biopic of Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) but one that is focussed only on the time span of his relationship with Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) who was to become his wife. It is from Jane’s book that the screenplay is taken. 

They meet almost as soon as the opening credits are off the screen. He’s a nerdish doctoral student in 1960’s Cambridge, she is a fellow student preparing for a PhD who finds him interesting and you assume attractive. She loves poetry, romance and God while he believes in logic, reason and not a lot else. Opposites attract I guess. They date and flirt, very badly, but sort of get together despite everything and particularly despite the difference of opinion about God.

Then one day, already not too steady on his feet, Hawking falls badly and this leads to his diagnosis with motor neurone disease. They give him two years to live although obviously he’s still with us. 

We watch as his illness progresses and it gradually becomes harder for him to move, speak and do everyday things. Eventually he is confined to a wheelchair and has to speak through a computer.

Jane pledges to stick with him, they marry and she goes on to devote a huge chunk of her life to looking after him. Thirty years in fact until they divorce in 1995. She also has to look after their three children and still has time to complete her PhD. Yes three children, so something clearly still worked but the film doesn't go there. In fact it's a film that doesn't go to a lot of places and leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

Caring for her crippled husband visibly takes its toll on Jane but even when she meets Jonathan (Charlie Cox) she stays loyal to be husband and her relationship with Jonathan appears to remain platonic for some time as he helps her out with caring for her husband and children.

As the film goes on it, it becomes more and more of a biopic about her and less about him. In fact the film rarer mentions his career or theories and we never see him working.

Eventually he either releases her from the relationship or he dumps her for his nurse, I’m still not quite sure which.

I found it more interesting and informative than compelling but it's certainly a decent enough film. If a touch undramatic and sadly lacking in inner torment as they both seem to take his worsening condition rather well.

It’s a film that will surely be remembered most for the lead performances. Redmayne totally nails the physical side of Hawking and is completely convincing but kudos too to Felicity Jones, who in many ways is just as impressive.

(Sunday 4^th January)