CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
Director : Paul Greengrass
Year : 2013
Genre : Thriller
Rating : *****
For the past 8 months, I have been saying to everyone that the best movie of 2013 is by far J.A Bayona's astonishing survival story 'The Impossible'. It moved me, it terrified me and was it overflowing with Academy Award worthy performances. However, I am somewhat sad but nevertheless overjoyed to say that 'The Impossible's long reign at the pinaccle of my list has finally been ended. Combining an unbelievably tense real life story with a mesmerising performance from one undoubtedly of the greatest actors who has ever lived, Paul Greengrass' simply perfect 'Captain Phillips' literally blows everything else out of the water. Telling the true story of a cargo ship that is hijacked by a group of armed Somalian pirates, 'Captain Phillips' grabs a hold of our nerves and refuses to let go for two hours. Tom Hanks gives possibly his best performance in a decade and Greengrass' sublime direction exceeds anything that he has ever done before. Flawless acting, flawless directing and flawless storytelling, 'Captain Phillips' is not only the best movie of 2013 but is also the best movie of the decade so far.
Hanks plays the eponymous captain Richard Phillips, a stern but hard working man who is pushed to the limit when his cargo ship the Maerske Alabama is taken over by vicious Somalian pirates. Determined to protect his crew and prevent any dangerous situations from occurring, Phillips must act above the call of duty and do something that billions of people would never do.
Based on the 2010 novel 'A Captain's Duty : Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days At Sea', 'Captain Phillips' relies purely on the true life testimonies from the man himself to generate any sense of threat or tension. Employing the same hand held directorial style that made movies such as 'Green Zone' and 'United 93' so palpably terrifying, Paul Greengrass deftly manages to balance terror and danger with understanding and care. Taking time to develop the characters of the antagonists as well as the 'heroes', 'Captain Phillips' does a wonderful job of showing both of the respective pressures on either parties. Rather than portraying the pirates as conventional thriller villains, Greengrass takes the time to expand their personalities and by involving us more in their psyches and their thought patterns, we are able to relate and identify with characters that many directors would never dare to make identifiable. Yes, it is obvious watching 'Captain Phillips' that Greengrass is clearly on the side of the Americans, but by exploring the individual characters of the Somalians, the movie achieves a much broader sense of dimension and reality; much like he did with the fated Al - Qaeda hijackers in the heartbreaking 'United 93'.
Tom Hanks is on blistering form as the central protagonist and while (rather needless) controversy has arose around the reality of the characterization of the Captain, Hanks certainly brings a weight and a masculine vulnerability to Phillips. Gruff but fair, strict but understanding, he displays all of the necessary characteristics that make a good leader and when his power usurped by intruders, he reverts back to the scared but controlled human being we see at the beginning of the movie. While watching 'Captain Phillips', it is obvious that Hanks will be nominated for an Academy Award but competition from Leonardo Di Caprio, Richard Gere and Chris Hemsworth is extremely tough this year and I was thinking that there may have been a chance that he may not win. However, the final ten minutes of the picture display some of the best acting I have ever seen from any actor and it was as if an imaginary gold padlock suddenly clamped down on the film. Portraying the perfect representation of pure terror and shock, this climax will win Tom Hanks the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Despite being played by complete unknowns, the actors portraying the Somalian pirates manage to hold their own against Hanks' monumental performance. Just as desperate and as needy as the crew they have hijacked, these men have been forced into a role they don't want to necessarily perform. Each actor manages to give their characters a momentum and an identity that allows them to feel much more real and believable and while they may not be given as much screen time as the eponymous Captain himself, their roles are just as compelling and sympathetic. Barkhad Abdi is brilliant as the Pirate leader whose eyes scream out passion and determination. While he does display moments of extreme violence, his character is not as conventionally brutal and evil as you may expect. Personable and quite chatty, Abdi plays a man who is perfectly happy talking in a civilized manner to his victims and although his main goal is to steal money, Greengrass conveys the feeling that there may be more to these men than the media is keen to say. Showing us the poverty that Somalians live in on a daily basis, the director does a fantastic job of showing us that piracy is just a way to get food and water. The rest of pirates are played perfectly and every actor should be commended for making such reviled and terrifying people so human.
Incredibly tense, superbly acted and shot in a stomach churning but completely real 'cinema verite' style, 'Captain Phillips' is an absolute wonder to behold. Do yourselves a favour, ignore the growing controversy (every single Academy Award worthy film generates some level of derision) and enjoy Paul Greengrass' nail biting masterpiece. In many of my reviews, I accuse blockbuster cinema of dumbing down to lowest common denominator audience pandering, but 'Captain Phillips' majestically shows us just what the medium of cinema can really do and what is was truly made for.
Hanks plays the eponymous captain Richard Phillips, a stern but hard working man who is pushed to the limit when his cargo ship the Maerske Alabama is taken over by vicious Somalian pirates. Determined to protect his crew and prevent any dangerous situations from occurring, Phillips must act above the call of duty and do something that billions of people would never do.
Based on the 2010 novel 'A Captain's Duty : Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days At Sea', 'Captain Phillips' relies purely on the true life testimonies from the man himself to generate any sense of threat or tension. Employing the same hand held directorial style that made movies such as 'Green Zone' and 'United 93' so palpably terrifying, Paul Greengrass deftly manages to balance terror and danger with understanding and care. Taking time to develop the characters of the antagonists as well as the 'heroes', 'Captain Phillips' does a wonderful job of showing both of the respective pressures on either parties. Rather than portraying the pirates as conventional thriller villains, Greengrass takes the time to expand their personalities and by involving us more in their psyches and their thought patterns, we are able to relate and identify with characters that many directors would never dare to make identifiable. Yes, it is obvious watching 'Captain Phillips' that Greengrass is clearly on the side of the Americans, but by exploring the individual characters of the Somalians, the movie achieves a much broader sense of dimension and reality; much like he did with the fated Al - Qaeda hijackers in the heartbreaking 'United 93'.
Tom Hanks is on blistering form as the central protagonist and while (rather needless) controversy has arose around the reality of the characterization of the Captain, Hanks certainly brings a weight and a masculine vulnerability to Phillips. Gruff but fair, strict but understanding, he displays all of the necessary characteristics that make a good leader and when his power usurped by intruders, he reverts back to the scared but controlled human being we see at the beginning of the movie. While watching 'Captain Phillips', it is obvious that Hanks will be nominated for an Academy Award but competition from Leonardo Di Caprio, Richard Gere and Chris Hemsworth is extremely tough this year and I was thinking that there may have been a chance that he may not win. However, the final ten minutes of the picture display some of the best acting I have ever seen from any actor and it was as if an imaginary gold padlock suddenly clamped down on the film. Portraying the perfect representation of pure terror and shock, this climax will win Tom Hanks the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Despite being played by complete unknowns, the actors portraying the Somalian pirates manage to hold their own against Hanks' monumental performance. Just as desperate and as needy as the crew they have hijacked, these men have been forced into a role they don't want to necessarily perform. Each actor manages to give their characters a momentum and an identity that allows them to feel much more real and believable and while they may not be given as much screen time as the eponymous Captain himself, their roles are just as compelling and sympathetic. Barkhad Abdi is brilliant as the Pirate leader whose eyes scream out passion and determination. While he does display moments of extreme violence, his character is not as conventionally brutal and evil as you may expect. Personable and quite chatty, Abdi plays a man who is perfectly happy talking in a civilized manner to his victims and although his main goal is to steal money, Greengrass conveys the feeling that there may be more to these men than the media is keen to say. Showing us the poverty that Somalians live in on a daily basis, the director does a fantastic job of showing us that piracy is just a way to get food and water. The rest of pirates are played perfectly and every actor should be commended for making such reviled and terrifying people so human.
Incredibly tense, superbly acted and shot in a stomach churning but completely real 'cinema verite' style, 'Captain Phillips' is an absolute wonder to behold. Do yourselves a favour, ignore the growing controversy (every single Academy Award worthy film generates some level of derision) and enjoy Paul Greengrass' nail biting masterpiece. In many of my reviews, I accuse blockbuster cinema of dumbing down to lowest common denominator audience pandering, but 'Captain Phillips' majestically shows us just what the medium of cinema can really do and what is was truly made for.
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