Captain Phillips (2013) - Paul Greengrass’ shooting style seems to consist of getting as much coverage as possible and then putting it together in the editing room in 1-2 second clips. And yet, this seemingly haphazard approach to filmmaking works quite well, because like United 93 and The Bourne Supremacy before it, Captain Phillips just works. There’s no denying it. Shaky cam and all, it simply works.
This film possesses a real and palpable tension. Like Ron Howard's Apollo 13, that you know the outcome beforehand doesn’t diminish the tension that the film manages to cast. Much of this success comes as a direct result of the score, which is perfectly in pitch with whatever tone the scene is trying to convey. I imagine if you watched this film without the music, it would lose much of its punch (like most films, admittedly). But with quick editing, an uninterrupted musical beat, and situations that possess a genuine gravity, don’t be surprised if you find yourself at the edge of your seat more often than not. It also helps that though I knew the outcome of the story, I didn’t have a good knowledge of the details.
The film is truly carried on the shoulders of Tom Hanks though, it must be said. Though the film doesn’t really find its feet until we’re out at sea with Captain Phillips and his crew (a brief prologue of sorts showing the captain and his wife driving to the airport could be from any primetime drama or miniseries, such was its mediocrity), once it does, Tom Hanks shines. I can’t say for sure how this performance ranks among his very best (the man, like Daniel Day-Lewis, has many, many good performances under his belt), but I can say that the last five minutes is Tom Hanks at his most raw and vulnerable since perhaps Philadelphia or the iconic funeral scene of Forrest Gump. It’s a truly emotionally stirring scene that had me feeling genuine and sincere sympathy for the character.
This is a well-made, beautifully photographed film. The stakes and action are real (everything here has been done practically; the ships and the helicopters and the ocean you see are all real), and the acting is at times superb. It should be noted also that the actors playing the Somali pirates do a superb job, to the point of eliciting empathy on their behalf. That they were non-actors scouted from a casting call in Minneapolis is remarkable.
- R. Carrier
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