Realistic, powerful and engrossing

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2013)

Captain Phillips took me by surprise. I'm not too much into these dramatic takes on real events, so I wasn't really looking forward to this film, to say the least. Sure, reading reviews, I'd seen that it had got some good wraps. That didn't make my anticipation for this film any greater.
Fortunately, when I did manage to see this film, I was quite surprised. The writing, acting, camera work, use of score all made this into a really incredible film.
The film is centered around the real life story of the hijacking of the American cargo ship, Maersk Alabama, by Somali pirates. We follow the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, an intelligent and quick thinking man, who has to protect his crew from the pirates, led by a man named Muse.
In terms of acting, Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi both stole the show. These two men gave performances of a lifetime within Captain Phillips. Hanks is a real, average man here, and whilst watching him, all you see is his character Captain Phillips, and not Hanks himself. He transforms himself into this man, and pulls this performance off perfectly. Abdi is equally as good, if not better. He's menacing in his role as the Somali pirate's leader, yet still human. You can't necessarily look at this man and call him the bad guy, because in reality, he has perfectly legitimate reasons for doing what he's doing.
The writing here, like what I just touched on, doesn't allow for characters to be simply black and white. There are no good or bad guys here, all we have are perspectives. This is something not so commonly seen in film nowadays, and I'm happy to see it. The script on the whole is masterfully constructed, and allows for good pacing, which makes this an enjoyable ride.
One of the faults I had with this film was the camera work. Whilst there are some amazing shots of the ship and some incredible takes with Hanks and his captors, there are also shots which feel a little too chaotic, a little too shaky. At times, it feels as if Greengrass is shaking the cam simply to remind us that Phillips is still in a state of peril, and we're still in an unpredictable circumstance! These shots are few and far between, luckily, and for the most part, I enjoyed the direction and cinematography.
Captain Phillips has it's faults, but for the most part, this film is brilliantly crafted, though not for the faint of heart. It's powerful, emotional and full of real characters, all who are complex and interesting to watch on screen. Certainly a recommendation.
9/10