Hannah's Pick: Source Code

My amazing sister in-law, Hannah, recently passed a number of movies my way (most of which I had not yet seen) for me to check out and review.  In honour of her support of my blog, Wednesdays will now be 'Hannah's Pick,' as I will go through her offerings until the well worn shopping bag they came in is empty.  It is an earlier blog for me today, as I was sent home from work when I offered to come in for the night shift tonight and help out.  I napped a full fifteen minutes already, but something tells me that may be all the sleep I get until sometime after 7am tomorrow.  I will definitely be showing up for work double fisting the coffees.

Today's movie is Source Code, a film that I had heard good things about from friends and have been intrigued about for a while.  My interest was sent into overdrive a few months ago when I saw Moon, a sci-fi flick that was the debut for writer/director Duncan Jones, who would then go on to direct Source Code.  When watching Moon, a great appreciation grew for the story telling style of Jones, who is able to guide the audience through complex stories while keeping them simple enough to comprehend, and that allows us good emotional connection to the characters.  If I talked positively about Sam Rockwell in yesterday's review of The Way, Way Back, just wait until I review Moon and you will hear me gush over this under-appreciated actor.

Source Code stars Jake Gyllenhaal who plays the role of helicopter pilot Captain Colter Stevens, who awakens on a train, in mid conversation with a woman he has never seen before (Christina, played by Michelle Monaghan).  From this point on in the movie, we slowly get an unraveling plot as Captain Stevens tries to figure out his situation and the true depths of it.  He quickly finds out that quantum physics has allowed a program to be created that will allow Stevens to re-live the last eight minutes of someone's life, and that he is being inserted into the final moments of the victim of a terrorist attack on a train in order to find the bomber's identity.

 The acting in this film is really well done, and that seems to be something that Duncan Jones realizes is important when spinning an elaborate yarn.  It is possible for an audience to suspend disbelief and dredge through the unknown when we feel a connection to the outcome of the characters.  Gyllenhaal does a wonderful job showing the wide range of emotions his character goes through while constantly having to experience the same eight minutes only to perish in a terrible explosion each time.  Michelle Monaghan is great in her role as the stranger in the train that Gyllenhaal continually meets in his efforts to find the bomber.  As well, Oscar nominated actress Vera Farmiga delivers a terrific performance as Captain Goodwin, the face on a monitor who coaches Gyllenhaal between trips in the source code.  Because she is just a face on a screen, she needs to be able to portray any thoughts, emotions, or inner turmoil through small, nuanced alterations in her face, a task which she is able to accomplish extremely convincingly.

 Duncan Jones is really establishing himself as someone to watch, after only having directed two movies so far.  One of the skills evident in Source Code is that he is able to layer in deeper themes into a movie that is also enjoyable on a mere visceral level.  The film looks at living and existence, two terms that may seem to mean the same thing, but that are completely different.  What is someone willing to live for, willing to exist for, and willing to die for.  It is this theme that adds weight to the film, and is great fodder for conversations with friends over coffee.  It is an aspect that is woven into the fabric of the movie, and is not overtly shoved in our faces and left us dizzy from being bashed over the head with it, as seems to be the method when some films attempt to include a 'deeper' meaning.

If you are a fan of science fiction, you will most likely love Source Code.  If you claim that you are not a fan of science fiction (much like my wife) but enjoy thrillers, you will most likely love Source Code.  In both this movie and Moon, Duncan Jones shows that the genre is not just about space ships and cyborgs, but is really just a canvas left destined for immersive imaginations.  It is a place where all things are possible, and Source Code makes the most of it, inserting Captain Colter Stevens into mystery for eight minutes at a time, forcing him to repeatedly live with those who are about to die, a man immortal thrust into the continual mortality of the people on the train.  Sound confusing?  Duncan Jones does a better job at delivering the story and the message, and that's a good reason for you to watch it.

Rating - 3.5 stars out of 4