Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jack Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Duncan Jones is a genius. I know this because he has excellent parentage. For those who believe that creativity and skill are due to personal ability, not hereditary talent, I direct you to his debut feature, Moon. And Source Code cements his position as a master of cerebral science fiction.
Like Moon, it opens on a man awakening in a disorientated state. Like Moon, an authoritarian, disembodied voice welcomes him back. Like Moon, all is not what it seems. But that is where the comparisons end - where Moon was restrained, Source Code is uninhibited; where Moon demanded focus, Source Code is irreverent, where Moon had character actors, Source Code has star power - in short, Moon is the kind of movie you make to get art cred; Source Code is the kind of movie to rake in the big bucks.
Captain Colbert (Gyllenhaal) awakens on a commuter train. A woman (Monaghan) addresses him by an unfamiliar name and strikes up a flirtatious conversation. He is disorientated and the last thing he can remember is being on reconnaissance with his unit in Afghanistan. He moves uneasily through the train carriage. And then it blows up. Colbert awakens again in an army facility, where he is told of his mission: he must keep going back in time to prevent the crash from happening - and each time he has eight minutes. I think this movie works best if you don't have too many preconceived ideas about what to expect - suffice to say there is time travel (of a sort) and parallel universes involved. But the story is firmly anchored in the real - every pockmark on Gyllenhaal's skin, every flick of black stubble, is rendered in high definition - and every time the train explodes the crash feels skin-splittingly, spine-joltingly real. Like Moon, Jones is interested in the minutiae of people's extraordinary lives - a coffee spill, a phone call from the ex, an altercation with a ticket inspector, all feel so normal that every time the crash comes, it doesn't fail to shock.
The movie has had the way paved by Inception (the two films are similar with their maverick male protagonists and deliberately ambiguous, potentially feelgood ending) and panders to the mainstream audience more than Moon with its familiar characters (Jeffrey Wright's hopelessly overblown scientist is a walking cliche). However, it is a satisfying thriller with an intelligent premise and a watertight execution. One feels that Jones is biding his time before he can hit us with his own Inception - a clever thriller which bridges the divide between mainstream blockbuster and cult success.
Starring: Jack Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Duncan Jones is a genius. I know this because he has excellent parentage. For those who believe that creativity and skill are due to personal ability, not hereditary talent, I direct you to his debut feature, Moon. And Source Code cements his position as a master of cerebral science fiction.
Like Moon, it opens on a man awakening in a disorientated state. Like Moon, an authoritarian, disembodied voice welcomes him back. Like Moon, all is not what it seems. But that is where the comparisons end - where Moon was restrained, Source Code is uninhibited; where Moon demanded focus, Source Code is irreverent, where Moon had character actors, Source Code has star power - in short, Moon is the kind of movie you make to get art cred; Source Code is the kind of movie to rake in the big bucks.
Captain Colbert (Gyllenhaal) awakens on a commuter train. A woman (Monaghan) addresses him by an unfamiliar name and strikes up a flirtatious conversation. He is disorientated and the last thing he can remember is being on reconnaissance with his unit in Afghanistan. He moves uneasily through the train carriage. And then it blows up. Colbert awakens again in an army facility, where he is told of his mission: he must keep going back in time to prevent the crash from happening - and each time he has eight minutes. I think this movie works best if you don't have too many preconceived ideas about what to expect - suffice to say there is time travel (of a sort) and parallel universes involved. But the story is firmly anchored in the real - every pockmark on Gyllenhaal's skin, every flick of black stubble, is rendered in high definition - and every time the train explodes the crash feels skin-splittingly, spine-joltingly real. Like Moon, Jones is interested in the minutiae of people's extraordinary lives - a coffee spill, a phone call from the ex, an altercation with a ticket inspector, all feel so normal that every time the crash comes, it doesn't fail to shock.
The movie has had the way paved by Inception (the two films are similar with their maverick male protagonists and deliberately ambiguous, potentially feelgood ending) and panders to the mainstream audience more than Moon with its familiar characters (Jeffrey Wright's hopelessly overblown scientist is a walking cliche). However, it is a satisfying thriller with an intelligent premise and a watertight execution. One feels that Jones is biding his time before he can hit us with his own Inception - a clever thriller which bridges the divide between mainstream blockbuster and cult success.
Nice review! You make me really want to watch it now.
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