It seems as though this summer wanted to give it's film-goers as many heart palpations in as many places as possible. We've got heart palpitations in space (Gravity), heart palpitations in the suburbs (Prisoners), and heart palpitations on a racetrack (Rush). But as intense movies go, there's always one that just stand out from the rest. The one that just gets right under your skin to make a grown man curl into the fetal position and cry "You fool! Don't do it!" The movie that gets the title of "Most Heart Palpitating Movie of the Summer, Like, No Joke, I literally Cried" goes to Paul Greengrass's Captain Phillips.
Now, Paul Greengrass movies have always been about motion and intensity (cough cough Bourne), whether it'd be translated into the writing or the shakey camera cinematography (if you thought the Bourne movies had the shakey camera thing down, try that on a boat and you will feel seasick). But this movie is different for two reasons: one, this is his first "based on a true story" movie (even though the real life Captain Phillips was much more douchey than in the movie); two, this is the first time in a Paul Greengrass movie where acting seemed to be the priority.
Now, say what you may about the Bourne movies and Matt Damon being incredible, that's fine. He was. But the Bourne movies' focus was more about the complex story and finding the true identity of Jason Bourne. For Captain Phillips, on the other hand, we know how it's going to end. It was a headlining news story. There was even a book written by the captain himself. We know he would live and that the bad guys bite the bullet (no pun intended).
But the beauty of this movie is that it's directed as though we don't know that. He wants us, the audience, the feel every tense minute in that movie as though we were on that ship being tracked down by the pirates, and the acting really solidifies this.
Tom Hanks is obviously taking the cake for this movie. His acting ability is unmatched in this role. It's not that fact that's he going all out all the time (cough cough Forest Gump), but it's more the subtleness of his fear and anxiety. It's obvious that he's trying to stay calm and trying to be one step ahead of the pirates, but if you look at his face you can just hear him crying out in his head "If you f**k this up, we're all going to die." That's impressive acting, when you can tell your whole situation just by your face.
But Tom Hanks isn't the only power-house actor. Let's take a look at the Somali pirates, and how I had to remind myself that they were not really Somali pirates. I'm being very serious in saying that they literally look, act, talk, walk, and even feel like they were from the coasts of the crime-ridden Somalia, which, when you look into it, is sort of true. The main pirate was born in Somalia, raised in Yemen, then moved to America. Talk about typecasting all you want, but this guy deserves an insane amount of praise for his role. He just may end up sharing an Oscar nod along with Hanks (which will happen. Don't lie to yourself, this movie was made to woo the Academy Awards).
I give this movie:
9.5/10 for quality (-0.5 for shaky camera)
10/10 for watchability (Only for the first viewing. You might want to collect your wits before braving it again.)
I hope you all enjoyed my review of Captain Phillips.
Fond regards,
~Grant Dunderman
October 2013
Film Studies Period 10
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