Review: Captain Phillips

For someone who normally doesn’t enjoy movies based on true stories, it is odd that two closely-linked projects have now made their way onto my ‘favourite films of 2013’ list. Originally, Ron Howard was meant to helm Captain Phillips, with Paul Greengrass in line to direct Rush. Thankfully, destiny (or scheduling conflicts) intervened, and now we get two different but harrowing movies.

Like many on the eastern side of the Atlantic, I had not heard the story of Captain Richard Phillips, the merchant navy captain whose ship came under attack from pirates. While this was advantageous in the sense that I did not know where the plot went, Greengrass is such a master of tension that prior knowledge is almost irrelevant. Turning a journalistic eye on the situation, the Surrey-born director not only gives us a brief look at the relationships between the captain, his family and crew – we also get some background on the pirates, who are not treated like faceless antagonists but as real people in a desperate situation.

Greengrass takes his time with the story, extracting every drop of tension from a scene. I cannot count the amount of times I ended up quite literally at the edge of my seat; my hand clasped over my mouth (only a few times due to eating popcorn). It was such a relief that the film avoided using the stupidity of people to create drama. No one accidentally drops something at the wrong time. No one makes a decision that would have you screaming at the screen. You quickly realise these characters are real and acting in a way that makes sense for the situation.

This lack of ‘movie-fying’ the experience lends Captain Phillips a reality that greatly pays off during the final moments. Hanks gets his Oscar moment and based on the film that came previously, I could not begrudge him that. His subdued, straight-forward performance is complimented superbly by Barkhad Abdi, who plays the pirate leader. Both men play off each other well, fighting to gain the upper hand in each situation.

Like J.J. Abrams’ lens-flare fetish, Greengrass’ name is now synonymous with the ‘shaky-cam’ style of photography. While I’ll admit it did annoy me in The Bourne Ultimatum, here, it is used sparingly but to great effect. Barry Ackroyd ratchets up the tension brilliantly using the effect but it makes more sense here as the characters are at sea. The music in the film is also superbly utilised. Multiple times, the straining strings are played to snapping point as we reach a crescendo of the climax of a scene.

If there is one criticism I would level at Captain Phillips, it would be its use of stereotypes. When a movie so skilfully avoids all other dramatic tropes, it makes the reliance on stereotypical characters all the more noticeable. The pirates have the young, sympathetic one; the short-tempered, violent one; the one who doesn’t see that he underestimates the other’s psychotic tendencies.

Thanks to superb direction from Greengrass and outstanding acting from Hanks, Captain Phillips ends up overcoming this minor annoyance to be one of the most riveting films in recent history. By the time the credits roll, you will need to pry the seat cushion from between your cheeks and mop up the sweat from your brow. However, regardless of the discomfort, you will revel in the afterglow of a truly spectacular cinema-going experience.