The end of the end – Captain Phillips bucks a Hollywood trend
In theaters Friday: Labor Day, That Awkward Moment
New on Blu-ray: Bad Grandpa, The Fifth Estate, Last Vegas, Rush
I had been wondering if Hollywood was even interested in producing an action/thriller that ended in any other way than a city being leveled, two super heroes punching each other ad nauseum, a plucky band of outsiders withstanding alien invasion or the cliche shining protagonist beating his chest in a “bring it on” stance before the credits roll, and then came Captain Phillips.
Penned by Billy Ray, the writer behind two woefully under-rated dramas (Shattered Glass and State of Play) in the banter-filled Social Network and Michael Clayton mold, the film is a departure for Ray and director Paul Greengrass (Bourne series). It’s an adaptation of Richard Phillips’ own memoir, A Captain’s Duty, which details his harrowing what-are-the-odds experience as the target and captive of armed Somali pirates off the coast of Africa.
The details of the hijacking of Phillip’s Maersk Alabama, a large commercial cargo vessel, are well-documented (so it’s no spoiler to report that star Tom Hanks, like his real-life counterpart, survives the trauma) but the true triumph of this gripping film is not the nerve-frying assault on the ship or its string of eye-popping gunpoint standoffs, but the quiet way in which the film ends.
I don’t want to give away the film’s final moments, but I do applaud Greengrass and Ray for turning a light on their hero’s vulnerability, his humanity, even his inner brokenness, and Hanks for molding such a powerfully subtle scene into a true emotional climax after two hours of overt adrenalin drama.
It’s an admirable performance throughout—perhaps his best since 2004’s The Terminal—but Hanks’ final scene went beyond acting to a place of pure being, pure responsive movement of every faculty at his disposal and served to remind me just how effective of a performer he can be. After watching the film I learned this scene was improvised with a real-life medical professional—an astonishing fact and feat. Hanks was severely overlooked at this year’s Oscars—perhaps Bruce Dern was just that good in Nebraska (I haven’t seen it)—but Hanks’ chief captor, first-time and revelatory actor Barkhad Abdi is nominated as a Supporting Actor, and the film is up for Best Picture, too. Both are well deserved.
For the most part, Greengrass keeps his beloved “shaky-cam” at bay, which is ironic, given that 90% of the film is set at sea, thanks to cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker) coming aboard instead of his on-the-run Bourne crew. Composer Henry Jackman, who programmed Hans Zimmer’s synths for The Dark Knight, adds an amped-up and heroic edge to Ackroyd’s unsettling, if sunshine-lit, visuals.
As one of four ripped-from-the-headlines films up for Best Picture (along with American Hustle, Dallas Buyer’s Club and The Wolf of Wall Street), it is safe to say Captain Phillips, with far less fanfare and glitz, is nevertheless the one that cuts closest to the bone.
Watch the trailer below:
