Source Code (***½)
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey
Wright, Russel Peters, Michael Arden, Scott Bakula (voice cameo)
Seen: June 16th 2011-06-20
***½ Out of ****
Source Code is director Duncan Jones’ 2nd movie after 2009’s
very good Sam Rockwell movie Moon,
but you wouldn’t say so judging from the brilliant assembly of this movie. Duncan
Jones won’t be referred to as David Bowie’s son for long; I rather suspect
Bowie might soon become known as Duncan Jones’ dad to this generation of movie-goers
(and definitely not because of shameful ignorance). He blends elements of science fiction, sweet
and subtle romance, suspense and emotion with a deft hand, leaving viewers
gasping as they hurtle through the events of Source Code.
The Source Code is a highly specialised system enabling an operator to
enter into another person’s conscience for 8 minutes before a historical event,
in this case the bombing of a Chicago commuter train. The operator, Captain
Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal), takes on the person of Sean Fentress, a teacher
travelling with a beautiful co-worker and close friend of his, Christina (Monaghan).
Source Code starts with Stevens’ first awakening in the mind of Sean Fentress,
trying to make sense of where he is, what’s going on, and who Christina is to
him, until the train they are on explodes. Stevens is ripped back to a capsule
where he is gasping for air and shocked to discover reality: he’s in the Source
Code, investigating the bombing. His commanders, Captain Goodwin (Farmiga) and
the somewhat eccentric Rutledge (Wright) brief him and send him in again, back
to that spot 8 minutes before the explosion, to investigate, and to find the
bomber before his next and even bigger attack. With each trip Stevens learns more;
about this “universe” and the terrorist planning the bombings to his own
involvement in the Source Code, and all the while he develops feelings for
Christina too.
While the movie takes you back to the same 8 minutes again and again, there
is not a single moment of tired rehashing, as each trip back changes
significantly as Stevens attempts different ways of solving the case and
confronts different possible suspects with a prescient advance knowledge of the
crime. While I won’t claim a complete absence of plot holes, the movie is very
well written and keeps the viewer wondering and guessing. Every little thing in
the movie is a visual or spoken cue, and nothing can be summarily dismissed. Gyllenhaal
and Monaghan have great chemistry and meet their doom in various ways, with a
few of them starkly contrasting the romantic tension existing between the two
characters. The special effects and cinematography are great, and in this
science fiction framework it doesn’t for one second offer doubt as to what is
transpiring and how. Everything just works, even the almost unexpected ending
which I wouldn’t call a twist ending as much as simply an accomplished bit of
story-telling and plot advancement.
Source Code is another science fiction movie that, while not in as
strong a sense as The Adjustment Bureau, offers more than just a great story
with fantastic special effects in a simple but concurrently grand idea to make
every second count as it asks you: “If you knew you had only one minute left to
live, what would you do?”
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