Captain Phillips
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Billy Ray, Based on the book” A Captain’s
Duty:
Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea”
With: Tom
Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barhad Ahdirahman, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max
Martini, and Catherine Keener
Captain Phillips delivers a
nail-biting true tale of terror on the high seas.
In 2009, the container ship,
Maersk Alabama Africa . They held the captain hostage for five days. The
event was a global headliner story. In the end, the U.S. Navy SEALS saved the
day and Captain Phillips.
Director Peter Greengrass knows
how a biopic should be done. The result is a taut, intelligent film as intense
as any action film you’ve ever seen.
Captain Richard Phillips (Tom
Hanks) is hauling tons of stuff, including World Food items to Africa .
Meanwhile, in a dusty poverty-stricken Somali village, men are instructed by
their warlords to hijack a ship. Director Greengrass has chosen to show the
desperate conditions of their lives. They target Captain Phillips’ unarmed
vessel.
The tension builds as a tiny
boat with four heavily armed men approaches the Maersk Alabama, whose only
protection is fire hoses. The four men scramble onto the ship. Their leader is
the English speaking Muse (Barkhad Abdi). The focus now is the relationship
between him and Phillips.
Phillips’ demeanor is calm as
he does everything he can to protect the crew hiding elsewhere on the ship.
Things don’t go well and the pirates threaten to kill the crew one by one
unless Captain Phillips comes up with an enormous sum of money.
The $30,000 in the ship’s
safe doesn’t cut it. The four Somalis take Captain Phillips hostage in a tiny
lifeboat. Demands are made for ransom. What happens in the tiny claustrophobic lifeboat
is guaranteed to jangle your nerves.
The tension builds and the
Navy SEALS prepare to do their work. The Somalis continue to nervously jerk
their weapons every which way.
Tom Hanks portrays a solid,
principled man whose world has been turned upside down. He does this with total
authenticity. Barkhad Abdi ( Muse) is an untrained Somali actor and he couldn’t
be more believable as he faces off with Hanks.
Peter Greengrass has mastered
the art of docudrama here. How the story ends is a foregone conclusion, but he
puts you in the shoes of the characters.
Watching Captain Phillips is
a harrowing experience. You are in for a ride aboard a roller coaster of
emotion. It is immensely satisfying. Patriotism wells up in your gut as the
SEALS arrive like the cavalry does in an old Western.
