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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Captain Phillips

Paul Greengrass is a director who is chiefly concerned with putting us right there. With his gritty, seemingly unpolished style of filmmaking, Greengrass has developed a mood to his work that is distinctly personal. The thing is, Greengrass doesn’t make personal films. At least not on a sentimental level. His masterpiece, United 93, is still the only truly astonishing film made about 9/11, which can be credited to the film’s nonjudgmental approach. One never judges while watching a Greengrass film. We simply sit back, drop our jaws, and do our best to catch our breath.

His latest film, Captain Phillips, is a perfect movie. Arguably as accomplished as United 93. What makes it so great is that it completely immerses us in an experience of utter dread. Detractors of Greengrass’ work are quick to note that his style is too frantic. The camera shakes too much, the action cuts too frequently, the sound effects are distractingly loud, and so on. Captain Phillips tones all of this down, while remaining as compelling a film as I’m likely to see this year. It’s a patient, straight story that is never afraid to shake things up. It’s a hero film without a likely hero, or a common villain. It’s a movie of our time, about the strength of man, and his ultimate breaking point.
In 2009, the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by Somali pirates. Captain Richard Phillips did what he could to dissuade the hijackers from resorting to violence, while keeping the rest of his crew safe. What developed was a days long battle of endurance, wit and survival. A battle that I see no point revealing in this review. Truth is, I didn’t know the outcome of this tale, and I was better off for it. But if you happened to remember the headlines this story caused a few years ago, then it will be of little consequence. You’ll find Captain Phillips harrowing no matter how much you know going in.

I feel it necessary to be completely honest. I had doubts that Tom Hanks could pull this role off. I had trouble picturing the beloved actor in such a demanding role, helmed by such a stylistic director. While I have enjoyed a handful of Hanks’ performances over the past few years, I haven’t seen him really push himself in quite sometime. So, at the risk of dumbing you down with gratuitous hyperbole, trust me when I say that Tom Hanks’ performance as Captain Phillips is one of the very finest he’s ever given. It ranks with his best, and will surely keep Hanks busy this awards season.

What initially caught my eye about Hanks’ work here is that Captain Phillips is, well, kind of a dick. He’s an authoritative, no-nonsense boss – the kind of guy who is quick (and stern) to tell his crew that their coffee break has run long. There is no Tom Hanks charm in Captain Phillips. No cheap sentiment or exploitive emotion. This is a very skilled actor playing a man as a man, rather than a movie character. If the Tom Hanks you know and love ever left, then I’m here to tell you he is most certainly back.
As is the case with the best Greengrass films, each member of his cast is perfectly on point in the film. This includes David Warshofsky, Corey Johnson, and Chris Mulkey, a trio of splendid character actors who play members of Phillips’ crew, Max Martini as a Navy SEAL commander, and, specifically, Barkhad Abdi as the leader of the Somali pirates. Every man involved evokes the absolute appropriate mood in each scene they’re featured in.

I will always respect Paul Greengrass, if for no other reason than he handled United 93 with such precision and delicacy. Captain Phillips only increases my cinematic stock in the man. A man who proves yet again that he can craft a compelling, respectful film from a very messy real life situation.

You’re going to hear a lot about the final five minutes of Captain Phillips, from now until Hanks’ Oscar clip in March. I won’t ruin it here, but know that those minutes may very well contain the single greatest acting of Hanks’ career. Those minutes are an actor proving he’s still got a lot left in him. They are disturbing, haunting, and utterly magnificent. Words I could surely use to describe the film as a whole. A

32 comments:

  1. This is one that looks incredibly boring to me, but I want to see Hanks' performance. Maybe I should just watch the last five minutes!

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    1. Boring it certainly is not. It's similarly paced to United 93. So if that one didn't work for you...

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  2. I'm definitely going to see this but probably next weekend as I have other films that I want to see. Yet, I am surprised by the fact that Tom Hanks looks absolutely solid in this. Oh, and I still think he can beat up Sean Penn in a fight.

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    1. Oh man I dunno... I think Penn could take most anybody. Dude is hard.

      But yeah, Hanks is superb in this film. I didn't know he still had it in him.

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    2. But Tom Hanks did beat up Sean Penn in Celebrity Death Match all because Hanks saw a helpless photography being bullied by Penn.

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    3. Celebrity Death Match! That show fuckin' rocked.

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  3. Can't wait to see this one tomorrow night! I knew from the first time I saw the trailer for this one it looked good, hopefully it doesn't let me down - based on your review, it doesn't look like it will.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it man. Be sure to report back and let me know what you think!

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    2. Hot damn, this one was fantastic. I cried at the end of it (I didn't weep though...). Tom Hanks is at the top of his game and is just fantastic. This is the guy I grew up watching in Forrest Gump and Cast Away as a kid, the guy who could craft such amazing characters that just bleed/drip with passion and dedication.
      I think it's a bit weird that as a big fan of thrillers, both this Gravity and Prisoners have wound up being some of the most tense, nail-biting, and gripping thrillers I've seen in a LONG time. Good on Greengrass for crafting a piece of work that is so powerful despite being a story that had an ending that (I think) is easy to figure out.

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    3. Nice man, so glad you liked it. This has been a damn solid year for movies of this kind so far. Really great stuff. Hanks is gunning for that Oscar.

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  4. Wow. I love Tom Hanks, I love Paul Greengrass... and you gave Captain Phillips an "A". This is going right at the top of my 'must-see' list. Great review Alex :)

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    1. Thanks man! You're really going to like this one. A damn fine film.

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  5. This movie is wonderful, isn't it? That final five minutes...jeez, I've never seen anything quite as harrowing as that. Glad you loved it, my review will be up soon!

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    1. SO GOOD! Loved the ending. Wowed me speechless. Will read your review ASAP!

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  6. Really glad this has turned out well. Hanks seems to be one of those actors who threatens to drift off into mediocrity but then pulls it back with a great performance. This doesn't hit here for a bit but it's definitely on my list to see. Nice write up Alex.

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    1. Thanks man. I completely agree with you - sometimes I fear for Hanks' career and than BAM, we get something like Captain Phillips. Hope you enjoy it.

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  7. Great review Alex. I still need to this and I have a great anticipation, since I loved United 93. Hanks looks just amazing and he probably is winning his third leading Oscar?

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    1. Thanks Nika! He could very well win his third Oscar, definitely. He's that good. He'll have some strong competition but wow... what an achievement.

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  8. Great review Alex. Loved how you talked mainly about those last five minutes with Hanks. Up until that point, I thought the movie was pretty good, but not great. However, after this happened, I couldn't hold back my emotions. One of the best of the year, and I will stand by that for the rest of '13.

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    1. Thanks buddy. Yeah, the film really came into its own there in the last scene. I knew I liked what I had seen up until then, but those final 5 minutes... my god.

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  9. God, those final moments. That had to have been the most jarring piece of acting I've seen this year. (In a film, at least. I also saw quite a few on TV.)

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    1. So jarring. Hanks really killed it there. I honestly didn't know he still had it in him.

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  10. Cool review! Happy to see my high hopes for the movie is not wasted. I can't wait to see this!

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    1. Thanks! I really hope you enjoy it. Surely one of the best of the year for me!

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  11. Brilliant review! I agree with everything you said, and those final five minutes of Hanks' performance are phenomenal. Watching this reminded me to check out United 93 again. I haven't seen it since it was released in theaters, so it's time for a rewatch.

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    1. Thanks man! I need to rewatch United 93 as well. When Greengrass is on point, he is so very on.

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  12. Looks very good, was curious as to what you thought about this one. Nice review.

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  13. It was the most annoying movie I've ever seen. The camera shakes for almost two hours. Everyone is screaming at each other and the soundtrack is at max volume. It made me nauseous.

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  14. I have to absolutely agree with you when you say that the last five minutes of the movie just put Tom Hanks, the actor into a completely different plane of acting.

    I absolutely loved the movie and have put up my review at http://moviebore.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/captain-phillips-movie-review/

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    1. Awesome, love that we agree. Will check out your review ASAP.

      Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!

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