Wave of raw emotions
134 minutes (M)
Paul Greengrass ( United 93)
Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Michael Chernus
½
Leigh Paatsch THE best movie dramas based on real-life events can make you forget the established facts and simply feel the moment at hand.
Though you may be aware of the destination, the getting there can still provoke intense pangs of dread, worry and total involvement.
Such is the case with Captain Phillips, a gripping account of the 2009 hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates.
There is no advantage in knowing what already happened. You’ll be too busy wondering (and steeling yourself against) what might possibly happen next.
The taking of the Maersk Alabama was the first attack of its kind on a civilian US vessel in more than two centuries. Four armed Somalis in an ancient speedboat captured a modern ship about 2000 times the size and weight of their own craft. An impressive feat, even allowing for its criminal nature.
Director Paul Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray take a deep-focus, investigative tack with this compelling story. No detail is spared. Every piece of the procedural puzzle that must be handed to the viewer is delivered.
We learn what drives the average Somali pirate to take such dangerous measures on the high seas. We witness the day- to- day operations of a freight liner such as the Alabama. Due to meagre resources and skeleton staffing levels, these mega-ships have become sitting ducks for maritime mercenaries all over the world.
Most importantly of all, we are joined at the hip throughout the ordeal to Captain Richard Phillips (masterfully played by Tom Hanks).
His defence against the impending assault on the Alaba- ma is as clever (faking the authorisation of a military air strike against the Somalis over a two-way radio) as it is doomed ( the ship’s highpressure hoses are a laughable deterrent to the pirates).
While Phillips is able to shield a surprising number of his crew from direct contact with the pirates, the threat to his own life escalates by the hour. By the time the American military finally arrives on the scene, Phillips is a hostage inside a motorised lifeboat capsule making a beeline towards the Somali coast.
Even in the final hours of his horrendous experience — cooped up in a confined space with his increasingly desperate captors — Phillips is still trying out little ideas that might avert a big tragedy.
For some viewers, being put through an emotional wringer in such a nervefrazzling fashion for more than two hours will make little appeal.
Fair enough. But to reject Captain Phillips for reasons that have anything to do with its intensity or authenticity is a major mistake.
True stories on film rarely rise to the high standard achieved by the filmmakers here.
The same accolades must be given to Hanks for his centred, unfailingly credible and nuanced performance in the title role.
His incredible work in the very final scene of Captain Phillips is some of the finest acting you will ever see.