Review: Captain Phillips

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his container ship crew’s encounter with desperate Somali pirates. Barkhad Abdi is Muse, the one giving the orders amongst the gang of pirates, armed with machine guns and not much patience. Familiar faces Chris Mulkey, Corey Johnson, and David Warshofsky are amongst Phillips’ crew, whilst Max Martini represents the Navy SEALS, and Catherine Keener is Phillips’ wife, glimpsed in the opening moments.

 

It’s a shame that this 2013 film from director Paul Greengrass (“Green Zone”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”) and writer Billy Ray (director of “Shattered Glass” and “Breach”) has been met with the news that one of the men in Richard Phillips’ crew tried to sue him. It kinda puts a taint on the film that, at a moment’s thought, really shouldn’t be there. The complaint was more about a difference in opinion concerning decisions the Captain made, not slandering the guy as a whole, let alone the film. The film itself is definitely worth seeing, so long as you can get past Tom Hanks’ ill-fitting accent and the shaky-cam nausea from Greengrass (a serial offender of nauseous aesthetics) and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (whose work on “The Hurt Locker” and Greengrass’ “Green Zone” was better than most shaky-cam jobs at least). I knew little about the real-life case going in, and perhaps that’s an advantage for a film like this.

 

Aside from the camerawork (suggesting a sentient being with invisibility capabilities but a severe drinking problem or possibly mild Parkinson’s), this is tense and efficient filmmaking and a good yarn, based on a true incident. As much as Hanks’ accent falls somewhere in between RFK and Mayor Quimby, it’s interesting to watch him in what is kind of a character actor part, albeit the lead in the film. It feels matter-of-fact, as does the film itself, really.

 

When you first hear of this incident and see how big the ship is, you’re in disbelief that this could happen. But these are desperate men from a third world country and they have guns. It can happen and it did. Barkhad Abdi is an immediate worry among the pirates. This is the kinda guy who is determined to prove he’s the boss, even though he’s really only the self-appointed captain for the sake of having one guy make all the decisions. But the power structure among these men is such that their real leader isn’t even among them, he’s back home. Any of these hot-headed characters (save maybe the youngest) could just as easily have been the guy to take charge on the boat. It’s not so much that these men are all  interchangeable, it’s just that, should Abdi die, the next guy will pick up where he left off quite easily, the power structure isn’t as easily defined as in say, “Die Hard”. It’s quite realistic to today’s geopolitics and terrorism, in that sense. Also, they are quite far from a well-oiled machine. Because the brains of the operation isn’t even with them, they don’t have a clear idea of what they are doing or how to cope when something doesn’t quite go right. Their first attempt is botched when their speedboat conks out, for crying out loud. I said that they were hotheads, and indeed the tempers on these guys is such that it makes for some very uneasy viewing. They are all quite volatile and unpredictable. And yet, as bad as these guys are, they’re following orders. In their part of the world, disappointment and failure are not an option. In that sense, they are more than one-dimensional villains, which I think speaks more to Ray’s script (even though I still can’t believe he co-wrote “The Hunger Games” and “Colour of Night”) and the performances than anything Greengrass does. In fact, Barkhad Abdi (Born in Somalia, but moved to Minnesota at age 14) gives us one of the most interesting villains in quite a while. He has a truly unsettling dead-eyed stare that suggests that he’s not even computing what anyone else is saying. He has one job to do, and he’s going to do it. He can’t afford to waver from it. Add to that the fact that he is armed, and that’s incredibly frightening. I’m not sure if we’ll see much of Abdi in the future (does he have range? We’ll have to wait and see), but he’s excellent here and deserved his Oscar nomination for a remarkable screen debut. He certainly doesn’t come across like a first-timer. Hanks doesn’t deserve an Oscar here (He deserved one for “Cast Away”, though, which I’m still pissed about over 10 years later), but he is sturdy and does what the role requires. He’s pretty convincing as an ordinary working man whose heroics are much subtler than those of a typical action hero. Hanks’ final scene feels so real that it’s almost unbearable to watch, and it’s his best moment in the film. I also liked the work of Chris Mulkey (who must be the most ubiquitous and long-serving character actor in mostly bit roles to still be working today. Ron Dean is the only other one who springs to mind) as the typical union guy. He’s an identifiable character, the guy who wants to remind you he’s a union guy at the first sign of trouble. I’m not sure why Catherine Keener turned up for what amounts to a glorified walk-on as Phillips’ wife. Bizarre.

 

Gripping stuff and way better than expected, if you can get past the shaky-cam nonsense and irrelevant gossip and accusations, this is really solid stuff. It’s what they used to call white-knucklers, kids. Adapted from a book co-written by the real Phillips. 

 

Rating: B-