“Source Code” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Cas Anvar, Russell Peters, Michael Arden, Scott Bakula, Craig Thomas
Running Time: 93 min.
By HKFanatic
Director Duncan Jones made a sizable impact in 2009 with his film “Moon” – an intelligent science-fiction thriller for an era that hasn’t seen very many of them, featuring practical production design that harkened back to the work of Stanley Kubrick and an amazing performance from actor Sam Rockwell. It was the kind of auspicious debut that would have garnered attention for Jones even if he wasn’t the son of legendary rocker David Bowie. While 2011’s “Source Code” isn’t exactly the next evolution of Jones’ style that critics and fans were hoping for, it is at the very least an interesting sidestep into commercial filmmaking and proof that Jones can stand shoulder to shoulder with more mainstream directors.
“Source Code” remains firmly rooted in science fiction territory but whereas “Moon” channeled films like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Alien,” the script from Ben Ripley takes influence from “Groundhog’s Day,” “12 Monkeys,” and the little-seen Tony Scott/Denzel Washington movie “Deja Vu” from a few years back. Through some advanced near-future psuedo-science, our main character (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is able to experience the last 8 minutes of a recently deceased person’s life. In this case, the person is a victim of a terrorist bombing on a Chicago commuter train. Jake is repeatedly sent back into this “simulation” by his military handlers since he’s the only one who can utilize those 8 minutes to discover who the bomber is before an even bigger terrorist attack is launched on downtown Chicago. Expect plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives what has to be one of his best performances since his “Donnie Darko” days. Jake ably steps up as a leading man and commanding physical presence (he has to beat up a lot of people in his quest to find the terrorist). Though “Source Code” isn’t as dependent on its central actor as the one-man show of “Moon” was, it’s clear that the movie wouldn’t have nearly worked as well without Jake giving his all in the lead. Seriously, he’s so good that I’m almost willing to forgive him for “Prince of Persia.”
If only the rest of the cast held up so well: Vera Farmiga does just fine in her supporting role but Duncan Jones and his director of photography somehow found a way to make an actress as lovely as her look homely through their use of unflattering sci-fi lighting. The biggest offender, though, is Jeffrey Wright – I don’t know what went wrong here since Wright (“Casino Royale,” “W.”) is a supremely talented actor, but his performance in “Source Code” is a disaster. He plays his character like a limping parody of Orson Welles in his later years, you know, when he was showing up drunk to the set of wine commercials. It’s an embarrassingly over-the-top turn in a film that needed its actors to keep the story grounded amidst all the heady sci-fi concepts.
Crisply photographed (it’s seriously one of the nicest looking blu-rays I’ve seen) and well-scored, “Source Code” had me hooked right up to the end. And I mean that literally – besides Jeffrey Wright’s hammy acting, the ending is what cripples this film. There’s a perfectly staged freeze-frame sequence that, if the credits had rolled there like the I was expecting, would have concluded the film on the perfect note.
Instead, “Source Code” keeps going…and going, straining credibility as it pulls together a cliche happy Hollywood ending. Very rarely does a film bungle its conclusion this spectacularly: not only did the ending make me gag from the Hallmark card corniness of it all, but it made my brain hurt as it pushed the film’s science fiction conceits to their breaking point. Seriously, Hollywood screenwriters: I shouldn’t need a PHD in String Theory or to have seen every alternate reality episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in order to make sense of your film.
Despite a limp conclusion, “Source Code” is an interesting thriller from a director with a bright future ahead of him. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a likable hero, Ben Ripley’s script is full of compelling twists (not bad for a guy who got his start writing “Species III”), and, frankly, we need more movies like this: smart thrillers with modest budgets. With “Source Code” Duncan Jones proves he can play in the Hollywood big leagues without compromising what makes him such a talented filmmaker – and that’s no small feat.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 7/10
5 Comments