Consummate film-making that should not be missed

Rating: Null/10 (27 October 2013)

It is rare to find a film that manages to combine an intelligent script and treatment with a sustained sense of visceral excitement and tension, but "Captain Phillips" pulls it off in brilliant style in a manner not see since "Zero Dark Thirty". In both cases, the final resolution comes in a non-triumphalist operation by Navy SEALs, but here the mission is not to find and kill a known terrorist but to free a kidnapped ship's captain whose location is perfectly known and whose captors are the very antithesis of a man whose wealthy upbringing led him to a perverse global vision. This is a tale of two very different worlds: two captains, two ships, and local destitution pitted against global consumerism.
All the ingredients are there and mixed to consummate effect.
First, a compelling story: the true experiences of American captain Richard Phillips over a five day nightmare in April 2009 when his ship, the "Maersk Alabama", was boarded by four armed men off the coast of Somalia. Next, a sensitive treatment by scriptwriter Billy Ray ("State Of Play") who does not demonise the Somalians but puts their desperate action in the context of the over-fished coastline, appalling poverty and brutal warlordism of their failed state. Then the director: the brilliant British Paul Greengrass who brings us the urgent camera-work and cutting that so characterised "United 93" and two of the Bourne movies. He is helped by the location shooting at sea and the loan of some heavy-duty US Navy shipping which all adds to the verisimilitude that grabs you by the throat from the very beginning and never lets you go. The score by Henry Jackman seems to match your heart beat as the action unfolds and the tension mounts.
And then there is the acting. Tom Hanks - the source of so many wonderful performances over three decades - is simply splendid as the eponymous sea captain ("Cap" to his crew and "Irish" to his captors) and the final sequences especially are incredibly emotional. The revelation though is newcomer Barkhad Abdi - who was born in Somalia - as Muse, the leader of the khat-chewing pirates, the other captain, the man who dreams of being in America one day. The rest of the casting is spot on and, in the final scene, the US Navy medic is actually playing herself.
In short, "Captain Phillips" is film-making of the highest order and you should not miss it.