★★★½
Hollywood action films would be so much better if Paul
Greengrass directed them all. He’s proven his ability already with “The Bourne
Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum”. He’s also proven he can take a chilling
real life event and make it into a brilliant film worth seeing, thanks to his
2006 masterpiece “United 93”. With “Captain Phillips”, Greengrass teams with
Tom Hanks to bring us the true story of the first American ship taken under
pirate control since the nineteenth century.
“Captain Phillips” follows the real events as they occurred in
April 2009. Richard Phillips (Hanks) is the captain of the MV Maersk Alabama. After some brief back story between him and his
wife Andrea (Catherine Keener), he’s headed out to sea. While moving freight
off the West African coastline, the ship is boarded by four Somali pirates,
lead by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Most of the crew hides from the pirates in the
ship’s engine room. Phillips remains on the bridge with other crew members as
the pirates take over the ship. They’re elated to have captured an American
ship, but don’t want to settle for the small amount of cash in the safe.
Muse goes in search of the crew and ends up getting caught.
The crew strikes a deal with the other pirates to leave the ship on a lifeboat
in exchange for their leader. This is accepted with Phillips offering to show
them how to operate the lifeboat. Unfortunately, the pirates aren’t completely
satisfied with the plan and end up taking Phillips along with them in the
lifeboat after Muse is handed back over. The Alabama
follows the lifeboat which is headed back to Somalia. They call the hijacking
into the United States Navy. It doesn’t take long for them to show up and begin
the negotiating process of getting Phillips back unharmed.
“Captain Phillips” is a relentless thrill for almost the entire
duration. Greengrass has mastered every aspect of these types of films. His
handheld camera style and razor sharp editing, courtesy of his longtime
collaborator Christopher Rouse, gives the sense that you’re just as much a part
of this event as the characters on the screen. His characters are all very realistic and
empathetic, even his villains.
Much of this can also be attributed to the brilliant
screenplay from “The Hunger Games” writer Billy Ray (who also wrote and
directed the brilliant and much underappreciated 2003 film “Shattered Glass”
featuring a brilliant performance from Peter Sarsgaard). Ray adapted his
screenplay from Phillips’ own book about the ordeal called A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea.
The most remarkable aspect of this script is the humanizing elements that are
given to the pirates, especially Muse. The pirates are not soulless,
one-dimensional monsters; they are people with a very real goal and a justifiable
reason – at least in their minds.
That’s what makes a great villain: when they believe in what
they’re doing, believing the cause is just. We, as an audience, won’t agree
with the villain and that’s point. Without any reason or justification, a
villain’s plan is simply chaos for the sake of chaos. This is not true in “Captain
Phillips”. The pirates get their own screen time in Somalia before they even
board the ship, setting up back story and showing us the conditions in which
they live. Our sympathy is not expected, but we need to know that these are
real people and not just angry monsters. Evil is real, and its bred from the environment.
Greengrass has already explored this element before in “United
93”. He made the daring decision to open the film with the hijackers preparing
for the day rather than the passengers. He shows their fear and anxiety leading
up to the hijacking. He shows the lead hijacker making one last phone call –
presumably to loved one – before boarding his plane. Is he trying to make us
feel sorry for them? Not at all. But he wants us to know these are more than
just one-dimensional monsters known only to the public by black-and-white
photocopies of passport pictures on every cable news network. They’re following
a plan they believe is completely justified. The same is shown here in “Captain
Phillips”. We know Muse and his cohorts better, we know where they’re coming
from, and that makes them more terrifying.
Abdi portrays Muse and he steals the spotlight away from
Hanks in every scene they share. He’s a Somali American with zero acting experience
who won the role at an open casting call in Minnesota. He’s sensational. He
portrays the character with such a wide range of emotions that are absent in
some of the most seasoned actors. Due to the amount of back story given to
Muse, Abdi brings him to life and easily makes him one of the best villains on
screen in a long time.
In the end, this is Hanks’ film and he turns in yet another
stunning and unforgettable performance. He plays the average-Joe character better
than anyone else. There’s not anything extraordinary about Richard Phillips. He’s
a family man making his living the best way he knows how. Hanks never tries to
make Phillips into something he’s not. He’s a demanding boss, but looks out for
the best interests of his crew, including keeping them safe after the boat is
boarded. When kidnapped, Hanks shows fear but never overdoes the emotions. The
last five or ten minutes of this film, however, he takes the performance to a
whole new level. This is one of Hanks’ finest performances in his already long
and decorated career.
“Captain Phillips” is a harrowing true story that will leave
you gasping for air throughout its thrilling final act. It’s one of the better
films to come out of a Hollywood studio this year, thanks to the brilliant
direction of Greengrass, a masterfully written screenplay from Ray and stunning
performances from Abdi and Hanks. Hollywood creative liberties are no doubt
employed here, but I have a hard time believing that Greengrass drifted too far
from the actual events. With that thought in mind, that makes this film and the
story even more astonishing.
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