"Captain Phillips" - directed by Paul Greengrass
Director Paul Greengrass has carved a nice little niche for himself in the realistic action thriller genre.
Hitting it big with the second Bourne movie- "The Bourne Supremacy" and squeezing in the truly excellent "United 93" before finishing the trilogy with "The Bourne Ultimatum" he has only really been rivaled by Kathryn Bigelow in this area.
I think he's a great filmmaker.
The only criticism I have of his work is often he takes the cinema verite shaky-cam nonsense too far.
With "Captain Phillips" he is back in "United 93" territory with a story based on real events.
On April 8th, 2009 the container ship Maersk Alabama was boarded by Somali pirates.
In trying to protect the crew Captain Richard Phillips left the ship on an escape boat with the four pirates.
He tells his version of the event in his book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates"
And here comes the first hurdle for the film version....
If you know about the existence of this book you know that Captain Phillips survived the ordeal.
So, any tension to be milked from the 'what will happen?' plot is largely eased.
But this is a big budget movie and as is usually the case the finer details of the events are molded to serve the purpose of an exciting story.
Which is of course the big question - is this an exciting, well told story?
"Captain Phillips" may be a two hour movie but it wastes no time in getting things moving.
Other than one studio logo and a title screen there is no opening credit sequence.
We see Richard Phillips packing his bag, talking with his wife on the way to the airport (Brief but typically great work from Catherine Keener) and boarding the Maersk Alabama in Oman bound for Mombasa, Kenya.
The movie is only twenty minutes old when the pirates are sighted off the stern of the ship.
Prior to this we have learned a lot about the central figure however.
He is a concerned family man and a by the book disciplinarian.
Phillips worries about the world that his children are growing up in and berates his crew for taking a long coffee break.
He also insists on a full, unannounced drill covering not only man overboard and fire but piracy attack also.
In actuality this drill was a day before the actual piracy event but in the movie the two coincide.
The only defence available is a system of fire hoses pointed downwards all around the vessel.
Quite why all ships in this zone don't carry assault rifle or grenade launchers is beyond me but clearly they don't.
As is the case with much of Paul Greengrass's work the perspectives of both sides are given space.
Many people point to pollution of the waterways around Somalia disrupting the local fishing trade as a primary reason for the upsurge in piracy since 2005.
This is hinted at in the film.
Insurance Companies have profited with increased premiums for vessels sailing the area.
On the other hand the slimy hand of Somali Warlords can be felt all over the piracy actions.
As is usually the case- the issue is not simple.
I don't know how sympathetic to the plight and lives of the pirates the real Richard Phillips was but by allowing Hanks version to be somwhat sympathetic the movie gains another dimension.
And as much as this is thanks to Billy Ray's efficient script, the bulk of the praise must go to the performance of Tom Hanks.
Hanks has portrayed this kind of character many times and it is hard to imagine who else could have been cast.
He can play driven, morally upstanding men better than anyone.
Refer to his work in "Saving Private Ryan", "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Green Mile".
His performance stands tall in this film and it would not be surprising in the least to see him nominated for a Best Actor Oscar next year.
The one thing that could get in the way of that is the controversy surrounding the accuracy of the film.
It's not the minor tweaks to the timeline that events occurred in or the odd discrepancy in the violent conclusion - it is more the central figure himself.
There have been several lawsuits in the wake of the hijacking.
One was filed by 11 of the 20 crew members of the Maersk Alabama who claim that Richard Phillips ignored repeated e-mail alerts and a detailed study on the recent piracy activity in the area.
They claim that he has a history of arrogance and recklessness and deliberately put the ship and crew in danger by insisting on sailing alone close to the Somali coastline.
Regardless of where the truth lies the film version of Captain Richard Phillips is an heroic figure extremely well played.
Newcomers Barkhad Abdi and Barkhad Abdirahman are solid without being exceptional.
Abdi is the better of the two but to be fair he has far more to do.
If nothing else this film serves to further highlight a big problem.
Piracy is often shown as a romantic venture in movies but here it is portrayed as a desperate act by desperate people.
Whatever their motivations it results in great expense in both revenue and lives.
Usually it is the lives of the pirates themselves as evidenced here.
As a factual study on real events it may be questionable but from what I have read it is close enough.
What is beyond doubt is that it succeeds admirably as a thriller.
Greengrass adds another film to his growing pile of tension filled spectacles with "Captain Phillips".
For a movie set primarily on a ship and latterly in the small, confined space of a fibreglass boat it manages to feel considerably grander.
Sure- the performances help and the script is taut and efficient but it is Greengrass whose steady hand shows throughout.
Shot in Malta on the identical ship the Alexander Maersk the usual Greengrass attention to detail is present.
"Captain Phillips" is more "Zero Dark Thirty" than Bourne with a focus more on realism than sensationalism.
The good old shaky cam is back but it is much more restrained than in previous Greengrass films.
The only criticism that I could possibly level at the film is that late in the piece the score by Henry Jackman 'borrows' very heavily from Hans Zimmer's "Inception" score.
In particular his track "Time" (listen here)
It is a small niggle that takes nothing away from a very, very good thriller.
Exciting, tense, very well made - "Captain Phillips" is a must see.
Hitting it big with the second Bourne movie- "The Bourne Supremacy" and squeezing in the truly excellent "United 93" before finishing the trilogy with "The Bourne Ultimatum" he has only really been rivaled by Kathryn Bigelow in this area.
I think he's a great filmmaker.
The only criticism I have of his work is often he takes the cinema verite shaky-cam nonsense too far.
With "Captain Phillips" he is back in "United 93" territory with a story based on real events.
On April 8th, 2009 the container ship Maersk Alabama was boarded by Somali pirates.
In trying to protect the crew Captain Richard Phillips left the ship on an escape boat with the four pirates.
He tells his version of the event in his book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates"
And here comes the first hurdle for the film version....
If you know about the existence of this book you know that Captain Phillips survived the ordeal.
So, any tension to be milked from the 'what will happen?' plot is largely eased.
But this is a big budget movie and as is usually the case the finer details of the events are molded to serve the purpose of an exciting story.
Which is of course the big question - is this an exciting, well told story?
 |
| "Captain Phillips" doesn't waste any time getting down to the core of the story |
Other than one studio logo and a title screen there is no opening credit sequence.
We see Richard Phillips packing his bag, talking with his wife on the way to the airport (Brief but typically great work from Catherine Keener) and boarding the Maersk Alabama in Oman bound for Mombasa, Kenya.
The movie is only twenty minutes old when the pirates are sighted off the stern of the ship.
Prior to this we have learned a lot about the central figure however.
He is a concerned family man and a by the book disciplinarian.
Phillips worries about the world that his children are growing up in and berates his crew for taking a long coffee break.
He also insists on a full, unannounced drill covering not only man overboard and fire but piracy attack also.
In actuality this drill was a day before the actual piracy event but in the movie the two coincide.
The only defence available is a system of fire hoses pointed downwards all around the vessel.
Quite why all ships in this zone don't carry assault rifle or grenade launchers is beyond me but clearly they don't.
 |
| The exciting bridge siege scene |
Many people point to pollution of the waterways around Somalia disrupting the local fishing trade as a primary reason for the upsurge in piracy since 2005.
This is hinted at in the film.
Insurance Companies have profited with increased premiums for vessels sailing the area.
On the other hand the slimy hand of Somali Warlords can be felt all over the piracy actions.
As is usually the case- the issue is not simple.
I don't know how sympathetic to the plight and lives of the pirates the real Richard Phillips was but by allowing Hanks version to be somwhat sympathetic the movie gains another dimension.
And as much as this is thanks to Billy Ray's efficient script, the bulk of the praise must go to the performance of Tom Hanks.
Hanks has portrayed this kind of character many times and it is hard to imagine who else could have been cast.
He can play driven, morally upstanding men better than anyone.
Refer to his work in "Saving Private Ryan", "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Green Mile".
His performance stands tall in this film and it would not be surprising in the least to see him nominated for a Best Actor Oscar next year.
The one thing that could get in the way of that is the controversy surrounding the accuracy of the film.
It's not the minor tweaks to the timeline that events occurred in or the odd discrepancy in the violent conclusion - it is more the central figure himself.
There have been several lawsuits in the wake of the hijacking.
One was filed by 11 of the 20 crew members of the Maersk Alabama who claim that Richard Phillips ignored repeated e-mail alerts and a detailed study on the recent piracy activity in the area.
They claim that he has a history of arrogance and recklessness and deliberately put the ship and crew in danger by insisting on sailing alone close to the Somali coastline.
Regardless of where the truth lies the film version of Captain Richard Phillips is an heroic figure extremely well played.
Newcomers Barkhad Abdi and Barkhad Abdirahman are solid without being exceptional.
Abdi is the better of the two but to be fair he has far more to do.
 |
| The real Richard Phillips -(left) with his family (middle) with Cmdr Castellano and (right) the real Maersk Alabama |
Piracy is often shown as a romantic venture in movies but here it is portrayed as a desperate act by desperate people.
Whatever their motivations it results in great expense in both revenue and lives.
Usually it is the lives of the pirates themselves as evidenced here.
As a factual study on real events it may be questionable but from what I have read it is close enough.
What is beyond doubt is that it succeeds admirably as a thriller.
Greengrass adds another film to his growing pile of tension filled spectacles with "Captain Phillips".
For a movie set primarily on a ship and latterly in the small, confined space of a fibreglass boat it manages to feel considerably grander.
Sure- the performances help and the script is taut and efficient but it is Greengrass whose steady hand shows throughout.
Shot in Malta on the identical ship the Alexander Maersk the usual Greengrass attention to detail is present.
"Captain Phillips" is more "Zero Dark Thirty" than Bourne with a focus more on realism than sensationalism.
The good old shaky cam is back but it is much more restrained than in previous Greengrass films.
The only criticism that I could possibly level at the film is that late in the piece the score by Henry Jackman 'borrows' very heavily from Hans Zimmer's "Inception" score.
In particular his track "Time" (listen here)
It is a small niggle that takes nothing away from a very, very good thriller.
Exciting, tense, very well made - "Captain Phillips" is a must see.
| Rated | M for violence |
| Running Time: | 134 minutes (2hrs, 7 mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Tom Hanks | --- Captain Richard Phillips |
| Catherine Keener | --- Andrea Phillips |
| Chris Mulkey | --- John Cronan |
| David Warshofsky | --- Mike Perry |
| Barkhad Abdi | --- Muse |
| Barkhad Abdirahman | --- Bilal |
| Michael Chernus | --- Shane Murphy |
| Corey Johnson | --- Ken Quinn |
| Max Martini | --- SEAL Commander |
| Omar Berdouni | --- Nemo |
| Yul Vazquez | --- Captain Frank Castellano |
No comments:
Post a Comment