Greengrass strikes again

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2014)

British director Paul Greengrass delivers the goods in this taut and terrifying true-life thriller centred around Somali pirates and the innocent civilians they put at risk. Greengrass shapes a true story of hijacking on the high seas and turns it into an incredibly suspenseful story that bears all the hallmarks of the likes of UNITED 93.
The thing about Greengrass is that he knows how to build suspense, and he knows how to deliver thrilling intensity. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is full of incredible scenes in which the tension is ratcheted up stage by stage, until things explode into excitement. This is a film of two halves, with the hijacking taking up the first half while the second half turns into a single-location thriller along the lines of Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT. Both halves complement each other and prove a satisfying whole.
I'm no fan of Tom Hanks, but CAPTAIN PHILLIPS sees him deliver a strong performance as the testy, unlikeable captain put through his paces by the Somalis. The Somali actors are excellent in their roles, and I particularly liked the differentiation of character in the pirate gang - you feel like you've got to know them come the end. The cat and mouse games between crew and pirates are expertly staged and the pace never flags despite the lengthy running time. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is nothing less than a modern-day classic.