Review of Captain Phillips (2013) by Toria B — 24 Jul 2014

Captain Philips - the movie: Wow. Still reeling with admiration for this most riveting, meaningful, terrifying, moving portrayal of a real life story. Finally rented it on DVD last night. It's one of those movies I feel compelled to talk about because I can't stop thinking about it - now 24 hours later. Thrilling, intense, nail-biting, it is also morally complex and tragic.

One of the best things about renting it on DVD was being able to watch the 1-hour "making-of" documentary immediately afterwards, which was almost as riveting and fascinating as the movie itself.

The Somali pirates who attack Captain Philips' ship are so real. They're played by real Somali born young men (now living in the US) who have never acted in a movie before. They've been given several months of training by the director, and they do a phenomenal job. They give a menacing authenticity to the movie. The director deliberately kept them apart from the other team of actors - (i.e. Tom Hanks and his crew on board the ship) - not allowing them to meet socially off set before the movie shooting, so that when these Somalis first climb aboard and storm in to the bridge screaming and wielding their AK-47s, they create a genuine atmosphere of terror, anxiety and tension.

Two time Oscar winner, Tom Hanks, doesn't need help acting of course, but the fear in this scene (and the rest of the movie) is so palpable, it's easy to see why many critics are saying this could be his best performance yet. And he really was fantastic. I've always been a big Hanks fan, and this just continues to reinforce my opinion of him as one of the greats. He's just so darn professional, talented, extraordinary, and deeply moving. The other supporting actors are all very realistic too, and it was satisfying to see (in the documentary) how much research they all did into portraying the typical lives of these sailors on board these cargo ships. The making-of documentary was a great way to see just how much work they ALL put into this movie, line by line, moment by moment, scene by scene. It very much reminded me of the process of recording my professional choir CDs. Performing phrases, words and lines over and over again, until you reach as near perfection as possible, with the director steering you at every turn.

What I also found deeply satisfying was the way the movie gave us the background stories, not only of Philips' life and that of his American crew, but also of the Somali pirates. The movie makes them human individuals that we can't help sympathizing with because of the tragic, violent and meaningless lives they are forced to lead. It does not mask or gloss over the heinousness of their criminal trade, but shows their desperation, their poverty, their crazed frenzy to assert what little power they have, and try to earn a sense of worth, even if it is tragically misguided, and even if it is only to "please" their war-mongering war-lords. After watching the documentary, and finding out more about the Somali pirates - I felt this even more strongly. It was especially heartening to watch the interview afterwards, with the actor, Barkhad Abdi, who plays the lead pirate (Muse), and hear him talk with deep emotion about lucky he himself was to be able to get out of Somalia at the age of 14 with his family, and settle in the US and make a better life, and "be a better person.".

Besides the moral and political aspects of the movie, it was also just tons of fun to watch the thrilling chase of the pirates by the full fleet of the US Navy in all its military glory. At one point, I really felt like I was watching a particularly good Star Trek episode, where aliens were invading and the U.S.S. Enterprise had called in reinforcements to battle them. All the naval terms and phrases: - "5 degrees starboard", and the official naval talk over the radios during the fast paced chase and rescue scene - was very much star-ship thriller material - except this wasn't a star ship, this was a real ship! This was a thriller at its best, with all the elements of nail-biting suspense, swift, heart-thudding action, twist and turns and tension right up until the very emotional end.

It was particularly thrilling to watch the real Captain Richard Philips being interviewed in the documentary afterwards, to get some more bits of the story from his own lips, and to see this real-life hero, clearly affected by, but not beaten down by, his ordeal. An admirable man, and an admirable tale of bravery and endurance, brilliantly portrayed and honored by this movie.

At the end of it, you are reeling with the multi-layered morals and messages you've just been given. It's a tale of a heroic Captain in peril on the high seas, and the awe-inspiring military rescue he is given by the mighty US Navy. But it's also a tragic tale of the miserable, crazed, desperate, power thirsty men of Somalia, beaten down by a country that has no economy, no structure, no education, no hope to offer, other than idle threats and empty promises. At the end, you wonder, you hope, that one day, maybe, this tragic situation might eventually be changed, helped, resolved somehow, with time and development... This movie (and many others like it) may help generate a global awareness, if nothing else, and maybe a passion for change for the better.