There's a moment near the end of Captain Phillips, when (minor spoiler alert in case you don't know how the story played out in real life) the villains are killed at once and the titular hero, played by Tom Hanks, collapses in a heap of relief and post-traumatic stress. It's at this moment that I was a little shocked to see that Hanks, one the world's most beloved and familiar actors, could still surprise an audience by reaching new depths and dimensions as an actor.
Captain Phillips is, overall, a very good film. In fact, it's almost great. But, despite all the superb elements of the movie, it's this moment near the very end that continues to stick with me days after seeing it.
This really might be a career-best performance by Tom Hanks. Yet, the funny thing is that, truth be told, he's not the real star of the film.
If you've read other reviews of Captain Phillips, you're probably thinking that I'm going to say that Barkhad Abdi, the newcomer playing the lead Somali pirate, is the real star. While he's also very, very good in the movie and deserves all the praise he's received thus far, he's not the real star of the movie either.
No, the real star of this film is director Paul Greengrass, who, with Captain Phillips, has crafted another visually stunning and technically astounding piece of filmmaking. He is the master of the hand-held camera, setting up complex action sequences and exchanges of dialogue and then putting the audience right in the middle of it all.
Whenever I see one of his movies, my first thought is always that it must have been a beast to shoot and to edit, and this movie is no different.
Greengrass's talents were on full display with the last two Bourne movies, a couple of the best straight-up action movies of the last decade. And, of course, he's the man behind the highly-acclaimed-but-still-kinda-overlooked United 93, for which he nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Director.
So, if he wasn't considered one of the great visionaries working in the movies today, he should be after Captain Phillips.
The movie tells the true story of the Maersk Alabama, a commercial ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. It's based on the memoir of Captain Richard Phillips (see: the title) who helmed the ship and, in an effort to protect his crew, boarded a lifeboat with his captors where he spent five days. The movie includes the events of the hijacking as well as the cat-and-mouse game played out by the Navy SEALs who eventually saved Phillips's life.
In trademark Paul Greengrass fashion, the movie puts the audience in the middle of all this. You're there with the unarmed crew as they try to hide from the pirates boarding their ship. You're right beside the SEALs, witnessing their skill and workman-like professionalism (Captain Phillips is as good an advertisement for the Navy SEALs as Zero Dark Thirty). And, most importantly, you're right there on the lifeboat with Phillips and captors, watching them all unravel.
The tension builds throughout the hijacking sequences until it reaches a fever-pitch and then slow-burns in the scenes on lifeboat as the pirates become more and more desperate. Hanks and Abdi anchor it all with performances that are almost certain to be rewarded with Oscar nominations.
Put simply, this is a extremely well-crafted film. One of the best of the year so far.
The question you're probably asking now is: Why don't I give it four stars?
To be honest, I'm not quite sure. As you can see, I greatly admired this film. It doesn't have any real flaws and I have no real complaints. There's just a certain oomph that accompanies truly great films that I found slightly lacking with this movie.
Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on it.
This isn't a rare phenomenon with me -- and I'm well aware that it's totally idiosyncratic. I felt the same way about Argo last year, and I was very much in the minority there.
Captain Phillips is a movie that I'd wholeheartedly recommend and it may very well end up on my Top 10 list this year. I suppose I'm just not ready to declare it King of the Movie Hill.
Anyway, my geekery aside, you should go see this movie.
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