|
Captain Phillips
| Released |
18 October 2013 |
| Director |
Paul Greengrass |
Starring
|
Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Catherine Keener, David Warshofsky, Corey Johnson |
| Writer(s) |
Billy Ray |
Producer(s)
|
Michael de Luca, Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, Scott Rudin |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
134 minutes |
| Genre |
Action, biography, drama |
| Rating |
12A |
|
|
The Cruel Sea.
Paul Greengrass (United 93, Bloody Sunday) takes his objective approach to the high seas for another carefully constructed observational thriller. Comparisons to Tobias Lindholm’s masterful A Hijacking from earlier this year will be easily made, but on closer examination Captain Phillips plays out like a less human Hollywood rehash.
Based on the real events surrounding the first hijacking of a US ship in over 200 years, the film centres on the commandeering of MV Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates and the efforts of the eponymous captain (Hanks) to ensure the safety of his crew. Right off the bat, Captain Phillips boasts some incredible action; the initial assaults and eventual boarding are among the most thrilling sequences you’ll see all year; but even as the pace slows down before the Yankee rescue op comes in all guns blazing, things remain taut and effective. Greengrass sporadically abuses his shaky-cam, but here the cinéma vérité style has a neutralising, if claustrophobic effect. It places us on the ship as a bystander, constantly catching up to the action, but never having enough room to move.
The even-handed slant seeps into the plot too, and as usual Greengrass doesn’t take sides. We’re given insight into the motivations of a pirate on the horn of Africa. Newcomer Barkhad Abdi more than holds his own with one of Hollywood’s greats as pirate captain Muse: on surface level the consummate professional, beneath a khat-addled, stressed and desperate kid. Meanwhile, our other captain’s family life is barely hinted at; a phone call and fabricated email supposed to tell us what’s at stake.
Hanks is at his serious best here, but as a bastion of heroic stoicism, the eventual emotional breakdown left me feeling a little cold.
- Cathal Prendergast |
