Captain Phillips

Just as he did with 2006's United 93, director Paul Greengrass takes a high tension moment in recent history, and films it in a docudrama style that seems to capture each tense moment.  What made United 93 feel so genuine was Greengrass' decision not to use any name actors playing the passengers on the doomed flight on September 11th.  That's why I was a little nervous walking into Captain Phillips, as he has decided to use one of the biggest A-list Hollywood names (Tom Hanks) to headline this film.  Fortunately, not only is Hanks in fine form here, but his presence does not distract from the tension the film creates, nor does it make this feel like a glossed up Hollywood production.  This is a raw and uncompromising film.

The film is based on the memoir of Captain Richard Phillips, whose cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates back in the Spring of 2009.  When the pirates board, they say they want the money locked away in the safe.  Phillips obliges and does his best to keep order on the ship and his men safe, but things quickly spiral out of control.  In making their escape in a small life boat, the pirates also kidnap Phillips as well, holding him for ransom.  With the U.S. Navy in pursuit, Phillips is forced to try to talk some sense into his captors, telling them there's no chance that they will survive this, as well as just trying to keep himself alive as the events unfold.  Playing Phillips, Tom Hanks comes across as a man who desperately tries to keep control of a situation he knows he has no power over.  He is calm for the most part, but obviously knows that things can go wrong at any minute.  Even for an actor as accomplished as Hanks, this is a smart portrayal.  He does not over-emphasize the heroism of the man he's playing, or make him seem larger than life.  His Richard Phillips is just a normal man in a very dangerous situation.

One of the trademarks of Paul Greengrass' directing style is to use a shaky handheld camera to follow the action, and simulate realism.  Fortunately, he does not rely on that style as much here, and tells the story in a much more simple and direct way.  He uses the claustrophobic nature of Phillips' vessel, and eventually the tiny and cramped lifeboat, to create tension, and it works wonderfully here.  There is a sequence where Phillips' crew must keep themselves hidden from the pirates after they board, and use different tools of distraction in order to escape detection.  Not only is this effective at ratcheting up the tension, it helps showcase the bravery of the rest of the crew, so that Phillips is not the only one in the spotlight.  It's too bad they exit about halfway through the film, and we don't get to see them be reunited with their Captain at the end.  When we see Phillips get rescued, and how the calm demeanor he's been holding onto through the whole film finally break down, I can only imagine that the rest of his crew felt the same way after experiencing all this.

What I also admired about Captain Phillips is how it tries to give the four Somali pirates who hijack the boat some form of a backstory and a personality.  They are not just one-dimensional villains.  In fact, as one of them tells Phillips when he is told there is another way to get what he wants, and he somberly replies that there is no other choice for him, we get the sense that he is reminding himself of this, rather than informing Phillips.  The leader of the pirates is played wonderfully by Barkhad Abdi, who gives the character a violent temper, as well as a begrudging form of respect for Phillips, since they are both the heads of their respective teams.  They also become intellectual enemies, as they both try to handle and take control of the situation at hand.  It's also interesting to see how Phillips tries to manipulate one of the pirates, a teenage boy who injures his foot early on.  By offering medical assistance, we get the sense that Phillips is trying to at least win his enemy's support.  When that doesn't work, he must fight alone.

The continuous and mounting tension that the movie manages to create helped me get over one of my big questions, which was why didn't anyone on Phillips' ship have a gun, or a better way to protect themselves other than just outboard hoses?  I'm sure there is a reason, but it's never really explained in the screenplay credited to Billy Ray.  It is the situation and the dread it creates that grabs our attention, not so much Captain Phillips himself, who remains somewhat of an enigma in this film.  We learn little about him before this event, so it is Hanks' portrayal that draws us into the character, not anything the movie tells us about him.  I think this is the one element that holds me back from truly loving the movie.  While it is ingeniously mounted and executed, there is not much emotional investment in Phillips, outside of the performance.  We automatically like Captain Phillips because we like Tom Hanks. 

Is that a problem?  In a way, yes, but not so much that it sinks the entire enterprise.  Captain Phillips still manages to enthrall, and for me, that's the bottom line.  It's an imperfect thriller, but one that manages to thrill all the same.  When you think back on all the movies this past year alone that failed to even do that, that alone deserves some kind of recognition.

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

0 comments