Captain Phillips

**** THE 57TH LONDON FILM FESTIVAL ****

Director: Paul Greengrass

Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Michael Chernus

Released in UK: 18^th October

The festival has officially begun and has opened with one of the highly anticipated movies of the year; Paul Greengrass’ thriller Captain Phillips, based on true events.

Captain Phillips is a dramatization accounting the events in April 2009 when the US cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama was high jacked by Somali pirates (the first high jacking of a cargo ship since the 19^th century), and the subsequent efforts by the US Navy to recue the Captain, Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) who was taken hostage aboard the escaped lifeboat.

Accuracy and authenticity was of high importance through the production. From the casting of real Somali actors to being shot out at sea on the Alabama’s sister ship, the recounted events of the crew and Philips himself rested heavily on source material. Incredibly Richard Phillips has overcome his ordeal by going back to work, returning to sea only a year later, while also publishing his accounts in a book; A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea. This material proved invaluable for Greengrass and his team.

Greengrass has defended his directing stating that the events and actions of the crew are acutely accurate and correct, however he has had to translate what happened over several days to 2 hours on film. From the time the pirates boarded the ship early on that fateful morning, there was a whole 9/10 hour gap between them then escaping onto the lifeboat with Philips. This onscreen translates to roughly about 30 minutes, the thrilling first act moments instead coming from the crew hiding below decks in the engine rooms, while also trying to sabotage the pirates efforts by turning off the generator.

What starts off as quite an average high drama thriller, turns into something more horrific and exhausting as soon as Philips’ is taken hostage inside the lifeboat. In real life Philips was held captive in that tiny capsule for 5 days with barely no water and no food, and under contact stress from the threats of the pirates, among them ‘a lose cannon’ who could shoot him at any moment for any reason. The same sense of claustrophobia translates onto the screen.

Hanks as always gives an incredible performance with great humanity and depth, but there is something even more satisfying from this character as it is based on a real person who is still living. Hanks himself spent quality time with Richard Philips in an effort to get to know exactly what he went through to be able to build his character deeper.

Hanks was attached to this project before Greengrass came on board (pardon the pun), but he is the perfect choice of director for this project. The man responsible for Bourne Identity and United 93 is a mastermind of gritty suspense and tension dramas. His decision to film out at sea and on the lifeboat on location was a wise choice, if not difficult for the production team.

All the other elements that make this film a success include the atmospheric music which adds to the tension, the ticking a contact reminder of the ticking time bomb for the Captain and his crew. The Somali actors themselves are superb, in particular Barkhad Abdi playing Adbuwali Abdukhadir Muse, the fearless and determined leader who took charge during the high-jacking.

Piracy in Somalia is an international organised crime, and the men chosen to take part volunteer to make money. Their finance comes thousands of miles away, so those who do volunteer are essentially puppets in a bigger scheme. They come from a country that is associated with ‘a collapsed government’, with crime, warlords, and gangs, so it was essential for Greengrass to portray this because these men have nothing to lose and are far more dangerous with a gun. Abdi’s intelligent performance portrays more than your average one layered ‘bad guy on a mission’ character.

Despite knowing from the start that in real life Phillips and the whole crew survived, you are still holding your breathe in every scene hoping for the nightmare to end, and that is a credit to Greengrass and all the actors in the tense second act. The end result, and in particular the final heart wrenching scene, you are left feeling as traumatised as Philips himself.

VERDICT: * * * * *

Tense, claustrophobic but immensely thrilling, Greengrass once again proves his expertise with sharp direction in a masterfully and carefully dramatized heart-rencher. With brilliant performances from all, Greengrass and Hanks are shoo in’s for Oscar nods, which are completely deserved of this superb film.

Captain Phillips opened at The London Film Festival on the 9^th October, and is released nationwide in UK cinemas on 18^th October.