CAPTAIN PHILLIPS – The Review

Last year saw a major motion picture that exemplified the best of a sub-genre of the “based on true events” film, it was based on a true event that was very recent. The finale of ZERO DARK THIRTY occurred less than five years ago. And even though we were aware of the outcome, ZERO was as riveting as any fictional thriller (much like last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner ARGO, which did have over thirty years of distance). This year brings another such film, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. Although it dominated the headlines just four years ago, director Paul Greengrass and his crew have delivered a taut, tension filled docudrama that places us right in the thick of the life-or-death struggle for survival. Sure, we know the story, but there was much more going down that the cable news outlets could only hint at.

Greengrass has structured this modern nautical tale almost as a three act play. The first act is basically a lead-in for the main action. The opening scenes show the title character (Tom Hanks) going through the routine rituals of his job. He goes over his itinerary via his laptop, then packs his clothing for the big flight. His wife Andrea (Catherine Keener), dressed in her work medical scrubs, accompanies him on the drive to the airport. After a flight across the globe, Richard Phillips would take command as captain of the massive cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama as it sailed around the horn of Africa to deliver much need food and drinking water to draught ravished Mombasa, Kenya. Not far from there is war-torn Somolia. Guerillas recruit several men from a destitute village for a hijacking mission. One villager named Muse (Barkhad Abdi) will lead three other men as part of a pirate crew that preys on vessels in the shipping lanes. In the second act, Muse and his crew break off from the lead ship (and the other small skiff boat) and pursue the Alabama. Despite the best efforts of Phillips and his unarmed crew, Muse and his heavily armed trio board and demand money. For the final act, the pirates escape the ship in a fiberglass lifeboat with Phillips as their prisoner. Muse plans to return to Somolia where they will radio the Maersk company and demand several million dollars in ransom for the captain. But first the four pirates must get past the full forces of the United States Navy as the USS Bainbridge, the USS Boxer, and the USS Halyburton, along with a team of elite Navy Seals, surround them.

Tom Hanks adds Richard Phillips to his already impressive roster of screen roles. I had been a bit concerned in the opening scenes that he was hitting the New England accent a bit too hard (or “haaard”). Then I realized  that this showed that he was relaxed and comfortable as he discusses the kids with his missus. The man who boards the freighter is markedly different. Captain Phillips is all business as he readies the ship for its fateful journey. He never berates the crew, but does keep them at a distance. He’s not there to be a buddy. The crew’s respect for him as they head to sea is evident. When disaster strikes, Hanks shows us a man struggling to hold his fear in check. He’s trying to say the right things to the hijackers, while his mind races, trying to plan a strategy that will avoid any bloodshed. After he’s taken hostage Hanks eyes dart from one captor to the next, trying to read their moods and predict their actions all while staving off dark despair. But Hanks saves his finest work for the film’s final moments where we see the full emotional toll of this ordeal. It’s some of his finest film work that will surely reward him with yet another acting nomination. Hanks shows us the hero from the headline, but more importantly he gives us the flesh and blood, very real human being.

Some of Hanks best work owes to the relatively untrained, unknown actors playing the Somali pirates. Particularly the remarkable Abdi as their leader. On his home turf, we see him prevail against the more boisterous bullies that jockey for a role in the high sea captures. The skinny (perhaps malnourished) short young man chooses words (and his crew) carefully. Like Phillips, he too must make quick decisions and stay strong for his men. Fluent in English, Muse derides Phillips, taunting him with the nickname “Irish” before he screams his demands into the radio mike. When they’re cast adrift, Abdi hints at Muse’s despair as he stubbornly refuses all of the Navy offers. He never loses control like his second in command, the hulking, wild-eyed Bilal played by Barkhad Abdirahman, who seems to delight in roughing up their hostage (perhaps he chewed too many Khat leaves). His cohorts played by Faysal Ahmed and Mayhat M. Ali can barely restrain his hairtrigger temper. There’s also great supporting work from the actors playing the Alabama’s crew (including film vet Chris Mulkey) and Keener as Phillips’s anchor back in the states.

Greengrass attacks the subject with great energy, and his usual steadicam, on the fly approach. The bouncing camera feels a bit too jarring during the opening land-based scenes, but proves to be a great asset in conveying the tension and disorientation during the hijacking, And the danger. Like the captured crew, we never know when a gun barrel will appear as we sneak along the deck. And there’s the mood of impending danger. Greengrass even does a bit of a Hitchcock homage’ as Hanks peers through his binoculars and sees Abdi staring right back at him (ala’ REAR WINDOW). For the third act Greengrass cuts expertly between the miliary precision of the US naval forces and the increasing desperation on the lifeboat. But this is no open-air canoe (like another Hitchcock classic LIFEBOAT). This vessel is almost an above-the-water submarine with very small windows. In the interior scenes we can almost smell the sweat and breathe the stale air in this big fiberglass coffin. Although this story dominated headlines for many days, the film still has a sense of urgency and discovery. The news reports just hinted at the drama. Greengrass along with his extraordinary cast and crew have truly made history come alive. The riveting CAPTAIN PHILLIPS will have you on the edge of your seat as you experience one of the finest films of the year.

4.5 Out of 5