Source Code

I may not have understood all of the elements of the mind-bending and twist-filled plot of Source Code, but the movie is fast-paced and entertaining enough to work. Director Duncan Jones (Moon) has crafted an action thriller that is increasingly becoming a rarity in this day and age when films like Sucker Punch and Battle: Los Angeles are starting to become the norm - It has an emphasis on character and relationships, and actually has some intriguing ideas.

Although the film is not set in a specified time, it apparently takes place in a future where the government is experimenting with a program where people can enter the mind and body of someone else who is recently dead, and relive the last eight minutes of their life. With this technology, they can enter the body of a victim of a terrorist attack, and try to get answers as to who was responsible, as well as possibly prevent future attacks. As the film opens, a man by the name of Colter Stevens (Jaye Gyllenhaal) awakens to find himself on a Chicago train. Seated across from him is a lovely young woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan), who seems familiar with him, and calls him "Sean". Colter is very disoriented, unaware of what's going on, and becomes even more frightened when he glances at his face in a mirror, and sees someone else looking back at him. Colter insists that he's not Sean, and that he should be on the battlefield in Afghanistan. As he tries to sort all of this up, the train explodes killing everyone on board.

But Colter wakes up moments later, only not in the same place. He's now in some kind of futuristic space capsule. A woman appears on a screen before him. She's Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), and explains to Colter about the Source Code, a virtual reality-type device that allows him the ability to enter the body of Sean, one of the victims of a train bombing that happened earlier that day in Chicago. She fills him in on his mission - Whoever was responsible is now threatening to set off an even bigger dirty bomb somewhere in the city. Chicago is being evacuated, but they still don't know who is responsible. Colter must enter the Source Code once more, return to the last eight minutes of Sean's life, and try to find not only where the bomb on the train is located, but also the one who is is behind it all. Colter returns to those eight minutes on the train in Sean's body, and begins a desperate search to fulfill his mission. However, each time he returns to that moment in time, he begins to bond with the pretty Christina, who is always sitting across from him when he returns, and begins to wonder if there is a way he can change the past, and save these people who are doomed to die.

Source Code opens up a number of possibilities with its alternate timelines, and the questions that they raise. The possibilities are literally endless, and while quite a few of them are ludicrous, or sometimes don't make a lot of sense, they are all intriguing. The most important accomplishment about the film is the one thing I was worried about walking in - It never gets repetitive, even though we are essentially watching the same eight minute sequence on the train over and over again. Screenwriter Ben Ripley changes things enough each time, so that we don't grow restless. It's actually a fair comparison that a lot of critics are mentioning Groundhog's Day in their reviews, the 1993 Bill Murray comedy where he had to relive the same day over and over until he got it right. This is kind of a more serious and more intellectual take on the same idea, although the screenplay does find plenty of opportunity for comic relief when necessary.

I also liked how the film unfolded - The trailers and ads have pretty much spoiled the basic premise, so the initial mystery of Colter finding himself on a train in another man's body isn't as interesting as it could have been. But, there are plenty of more questions to unravel, and the filmmakers do a good job at keeping us intrigued. They've also found a good leading man in Jake Gyllenhaal, who is low key enough to act as an entry point to the film's increasingly complex plot. He's forced to carry the entire film, since all the other roles are pretty much secondary. Fortunately, he's more than up to the task. He brings the human touch that a film about virtual reality and alternate timelines desperately needs. And although no one gets as much screen time as him, everyone fills their roles quite well. I was especially impressed with how much emotion Vera Farmiga is able to bring to her role, especially since she spends most of her time as an image on a monitor, or sitting at a control panel.

Walking in, I had a lot of worries about Source Code. The movie's not perfect (some plot aspects could have been explained better, but I guess that just creates conversation when the movie's done), but as it went along, I eventually was able to drop most of my concerns. The most impressive thing is that despite a fairly brief 93 minute running time, the film does not feel rushed or incomplete. The ideas and the characters have been given enough time to attach themselves to us. This is a surprisingly entertaining and smart little film that I think will surprise a lot of people who see it.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments