Captain
Phillips: ****/*****, or 7/10
2013
witnessed the release (in the Netherlands at least) of two very
different films based on the exact same theme, ship hijacking (both
reportedly based on true events, but not the same events). One was
the excellent Danish production Kapringen which for a moment
largely seemed to revolve on the reuniting of the cast and crew of
Borgen but instead proved a psychological horror propelled by
the sheer inadequacy of the ship's company to successfully negotiate
terms with the Somali pirates for the release of the ship and its
hostages. It kept the film devoid of true action for most of the film
and caused the movie to keep its audience waiting endlessly for
something to happen, which aptly illustrated the reality that such
hostage situations usualy result in a deadlock that leads to months
of uncertainty for victims, perpetrators and families alike. And when
all seemed resolved, Kapringen still ended on a shocking note
of unexpected, needless violence to top the agony that came before.
Paul Greengrass takes a whole different approach to hijacking in his
more action packed yet equally chilling Captain Phillips,
starring Tom Hanks as the titular character. Commanding a large
freighter and sailing it around the Horn of Africa, Phillips too is
confronted by armed marauders out for money by seizing commercial
maritime traffic and privateering its personnel in exchange for cash.
Whereas that other famous American Tom (whose last name also inspires
the thought of boats, though that fun fact is totally irrelevant
here) plays the occasional everyman and always fails miserably
because of his star status, Hanks yet again proves up for said job
despite his own famous persona and portrays a stern but decent
regular working Joe, insightful as to his situation and not afraid to
back down when his opponent bests him and assumes command of his
vessel. The lives of his crew come first, his own by comparison he
considers dispensable. Money is the brigands' objective, not mayhem
for mayhem's sake, but there are no negotiations with the ship's
company. While the situation grows ever more tense and a happy end
seems less and less likely to transpire, Phillips plays an
increasingly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with his captors that
seems only to be able to end in his own unfortunate demise.
Greengrass
(of Bloody Sunday and Bourne fame, while also
responsible for another factual hijacking of a wholly different kind
with United 93) applies his signature handheld 'shaky cam'
style to great effect to get up close and personal with both Phillips
and the bad guys (and to make spectators with poor stomachs seasick
for sure) which delivers both visceral action and intense emotional
drama. And though the movie ultimately proceeds into a fairly typical
'good guys versus bad guys' conflict, he inspires more than the
slightest bit of sympathy for the perps, who are portrayed alarmingly
accurate as people devoid of options. When you spend your life living
in excruciating poverty in a rural area that supports no other means
of employment or even food than the job of fisherman, and when
western fisheries cut deals with your corrupt government to catch all
your fish, what else is there to do than to go out to sea and
commandeer foreign vessels in the hopes of ransoming their
passengers? Somali pirates are desperate people who have no other
means of sustaining themselves, Greengrass effectively reveals. The
lead pirate, a skinny, intelligent young man (tremendously compelling
performance by first time actor Barkhad Abdi, who commendably holds
his own next to Hanks) is shown to be a man forced by circumstance to
do things he needs to do to survive, but he definitely never enjoys
doing them for a second. Both he and Phillips try to contain their
crew from letting the explosive situation degenerate into bloodshed,
something the pirate surprisingly succeeds in more so than Phillips
does, as his crew attempts to regain control of their boat on
multiple occasions without his say, further endangering all their
lives. When the anti-piracy units of the American Navy arrive, the
pirates are forced to make a quick exit in a lifeboat, and drag
Phillips along with them as a human shield. It seems obvious that
things can only end badly, but the movie delivers a forcibly happy
end (of sorts) that does feel bitter for all present parties
regardless. Captain Phillips is one-third action, one-third
suspense and one-third human drama, but more straightforward in style
(it's still Hollywood material after all) than its Danish
predecessor, yet making for a fine companion piece to that film in
showing a very different way these hostage negotiations tend to
conclude.
