Captain Phillips

Here is how you can tell I went to Southern California.  I saw four movies.  Plus, I got to see our West Coast friends (hi to Paula & Eric and Barry & Linda) who reminded me how they haven’t seen any reviews lately.

Here are four — one great independent film and three “big” films.

Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) — It has been awhile since Tom Hanks had a hit movie.  Well into his 50s, Hanks has been a sure thing for a long time and has Oscars to prove it.  From Forest Gump to Philadelphia to Big to That Thing You Do, Hanks has gone from Bosom Buddies clown to Hollywood producer.  Here, he embraces the role of Rich Phillips, the Merchant Marines captain whose freighter is hijacked by desperate Somali pirates just a few short years ago.  Based on this true story but undoubtedly fictionalized to make him look perfect, Captain Phillips is a traditional three-act play.

 

Act One is the set up — Rich’s reluctance to leave his wife (Catherine Keener) for his next excursion through the dangerous Somali straits; the mustering of the ship and crew; and the sailing.  Act Two is mesmerizing — the Taking of Mersck Alabama 1-2-3.  It is taut, tense, and inevitable.  Act Three is the rescue.

 

The film is big in every way thanks to the deft direction of Paul Greengrass, who brought us Green Zone and the Bourne films.  Captain Phillips is most like Green Zone.  The military shine.  To save our hero, the U.S. Navy sends three ships — really big ones — along with the Navy Seals.  It is a stunning show of force.  And an equally stunning expensive experience.  I’ll bet the U.S. spent more money on trying to rescue one man than Greengrass spent on the film.  It does make you wonder about whether a life is worth a fortune.  But this film doesn’t ask any of those questions or why we continue to authorize ships to sail in dangerous, prickly waters in the name of commerce.  To its credit, the film does depict the stress and desperation of Somali nationals, having to choose between a life of crime or death.

 

As real drama, Captain Philips succeeds in a manner like Apollo 13 (another Hanks’ film) because we know the end but remain riveted to our chairs.  But the best scene by far comes at the very end of the film.  That never happens.  Filmmakers typically provide a coda after the ending to ease the audience out of their chairs.  This one makes sure that the rescue is not the denouement.  In this final scene, Hanks shines in a way we have not seen since, perhaps, Philadelphia.  That scene alone might earn him an Oscar nomination, and he deserves it.  As Captain Phillips, he is believable; as an actor, he reminds us that he is the real deal.

 

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