Captain Phillips

Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips and Stephan Tatly, Captain Phillips is the true story about a merchant freighter captain whose ship is taken hostage by Somali pirates as he tries to deal with the pirates and keep his crew safe. Directed by Paul Greengrass and screenplay by Billy Ray, the film is a look into how a man tries to maintain a peaceful situation while being captured by pirates as he is trying to keep his crew safe as Tom Hanks plays the titular role. Also starring Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, David Warshofsky, Chris Mulkey, Yul Vazquez, and Corey Thompson. Captain Phillips is a gripping yet mesmerizing film from Paul Greengrass.

The film is based on a real-life incident in 2009 where Captain Richard Phillips is leading a freighter cargo ship on the coast of Somalia where he and his crew have to deal with a small band of pirates led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Muse and his small band of brothers do whatever to get on board where they succeed and take over the ship while Phillips tries to protect his crew and make sure no one is killed. It’s a film that plays into this real-life situation where Phillips is aware that they’re in dangerous territory as he informs his crew of the situation they have to face where it becomes very real. Even as he has to do a lot of negotiating and such to ensure his crew’s safety and give these pirates what they want without hurting anyone.

Billy Ray’s screenplay may have a traditional structure of sorts but it strays from convention where it plays into moments of real-time. The first act shows Phillips’ life at home with his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) as well as the dreary world of these Somali pirates as they’re in need to make money in order to survive as Muse is someone who has experience in piracy. Phillips is aware of what he’s facing as he and his crew would encounter pirates in the first act where Muse’s first attempt with another boat doesn’t go well until he gets an idea to make his second attempt where he and his small crew succeed. Much of the film’s second act is about Phillips trying to ensure Muse that he’s not going cause trouble as his crew hide out where they’re not trying to make any attempts to do anything heroic or else someone gets killed.

Adding to the chaos in script is that there’s an element in the battle of wits between Muse and Phillips where there’s a bit of mutual respect for each other as Phillips knows that Muse is no fool and Muse is aware of Phillips determination to stay alive once the U.S. Navy gets involved. With Phillips captured on his own in a lifeboat with the pirates, it becomes this even bigger game where the pirates have to deal and negotiate with the Navy though it’s a showdown that doesn’t get any easier where Ray creates a bigger complexity in the script as well as reveal that there’s no such thing as heroes or villains in this story.

Paul Greengrass’ direction is very engaging for the way he presents the film as if a real-life situation is happening. Going for that cinema verite approach with hand-held cameras and close-ups, Greengrass maintains a lot of simplicity and intimacy for most of the film where it showcases life on a freighter cargo ship. Even as he creates some images to show a world where men do their job and keep themselves safe as they’re aware of the situations they might have to deal with. Once the pirates come into the story, Greengrass adds that air of suspense into the story where he keeps the camera in tact to both the little engine boats the pirates are in as well as the big ship to see how it would maneuver itself into getting away from the pirates.

The suspense definitely intensifies in its second and third act where the moments of violence are low-key but also chilling to see what a crew member will do to see if he just hides or do something knowing how tense the situation is. By the time the film moves into the lifeboat, there is this air of claustrophobia and tension that occurs while it is inter-cut with these images of the Navy trying to figure out how to create a situation and make sure they save Phillips life as even Phillips himself tries to fight his way. Even as he encounters moments where he could’ve died but the Muse character knows that if he’s killed, they all die. That sense of intensity in the suspense and the sense of something could go wrong occurs throughout the film as it leads to this very harrowing climax. Overall, Greengrass crafts a very engrossing yet captivating thriller about a ship captain’s willingness to survive against pirates.

Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd does fantastic work with the film‘s cinematography where it has this air of grain to play into something that feels real as well as using some low-key lights and such for the scenes in the lifeboat as well as the scenes inside the Naval ships. Editor Christopher Rouse does brilliant work with the editing with its use of rhythmic and methodical cuts to play into the suspense as well as the conversations between Muse and Phillips in their game of wits. Production designer Paul Kirby does superb work with the minimal set pieces from the look of the boat the pirates are in before they attempt to capture something to the interiors of the freighter and the lifeboat.

Costume designer Mark Bridges does nice work with the costumes as it’s mostly casual for the crew while the pirates ragged clothing showcase the world they come from and how desperate they are. Visual effects supervisors Richard Kidd, Charlie Noble, and Adam Rowland do terrific work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects such as the backdrops for some of the exteriors settings. Sound editor Oliver Tarney does amazing work with the sound to play into the tense atmosphere that occurs in the ship as well as the sounds of sirens and ocean waves to play into the film‘s suspense. The film’s music by Henry Jackman is wonderful for its ominous yet enchanting orchestral score to play into the film’s suspense and drama that happens throughout the film.

The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous for the ensemble that is created as it features some noteworthy small performances from Catherine Keener as Phillips’ wife Andrea, Yul Vasquez as a naval commander trying to negotiate Captain Phillips’ safety, Max Martini as U.S. Navy SEAL commander, Chris Mulkey as the senior crew member John Cronan, Corey Johnson as the helmsman Ken Quinn, David Warshofsky as chief engineer Mike Perry, and Michael Chernus as Phillips’ first officer Shane Murphy. Mahat M. Ali, Faysal Ahmed, and Barkhad Abdirahman are great as the three hijackers who try to maintain control while pondering about what to do with Captain Phillips. Barkhad Abdi is brilliant as the pirates leader Muse who tries to maintain some control of the situation though he is also not a fool as Abdi just has this very unique presence that makes him terrifying but also compelling as he makes the character sort of cool for the fact that he’s very determined.

Finally, there’s Tom Hanks in the titular role as it’s a performance that proves into why Hanks is one of American cinema’s great actors. Hanks has this everyman quality that allows his character to be engaging while he maintains a sense of cool in the way he handles his situation. It’s definitely a performance that shows Hanks just being calm and cool while showing that he also has an edge to him which proves that he is still one of the best actors working today.

Captain Phillips is a tremendous film from Paul Greengrass that features an incredible performance from Tom Hanks. Told in a very direct and gripping style with a cast that is solid including a major discovery in Barkhad Abdi. While it doesn’t feature anything new that Greengrass has done, it does however maintain that only he could make a film like this that is filled with suspense as well as a real-life story without sugar-coating it. In the end, Captain Phillips is a spectacular film from Paul Greengrass.

Paul Greengrass Films: (Resurrected) - (Open Fire) - (The One That Got Away) - (The Fix) - (The Theory of Flight) - Bloody Sunday - (The Bourne Supremacy) - United 93 - (The Bourne Ultimatum) - (Green Zone)

© thevoid99 2013

Bloody Sunday (2002 film)

Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, Bloody Sunday is the story about the 1972 shootings in Derry, North Ireland in which 26 protesters died in the hands of the British Army. Inspired by Don Mullan’s 1997 book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, the film explores the event that happened from the perspective of those who saw it all. Starring James Nesbitt, Simon Mann, and Tim Pigott-Smith. Bloody Sunday is a chilling yet harrowing film from Paul Greengrass.

It’s January 30, 1972 as local politician Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) is organizing a peaceful protest march across the town of Derry. Meanwhile, Major General Ford (Tim Pigott-Smith) and Colonel Wilford (Simon Mann) are organizing a group of troops to counter the protest anything toes wrong. With a young named Gerry Donaghy (Declan Duddy) joins the protest as Cooper is trying to get ready to lead the protest with Eamonn McCann (Gerard Crossan) and Bernadette Devlin (Mary Moulds). Confusion arises during the march when some protesters sees British snipers up on the walls as violence starts to ensue between protesters and British troops leading to the incident known as Bloody Sunday.

Since the film is a dramatic interpretation of what happened in on that horrible day in the span of 24 hours. Writer/director Paul Greengrass creates a film that revels into what happened and show from two different sides as they get ready for this day. On the one corner, you have this peaceful protester who is hoping to make a difference on this day despite the anger of other protesters over some of the things that has happened. On the other corner is the British army that is organizing a way to stop the protests as soldiers want revenge for those they’ve lost. Tension is there as things start off a bit smoothly but paranoia ensues leading the unfortunate incident that occurred.

While the script is a very loose one with a simple structure where the third act is its aftermath in which soldiers have to report to their superiors while protest leaders have to comfort families and such. It is still an engrossing one for the way it allows to go back and forth to emphasize on its differing perspectives without really taking sides.

The lack of a conventional script allows Greengrass to create a film where it’s all about being in the center of everything that is happening. Presented in a cinema verite style with lots of shaky hand-held cameras where it intensifies for the big violent scene. Since the film is about this horrible moment in the history of the world, Greengrass chooses to let things build up to that violent moment while using unconventional cutting styles to create something that feels abrupt and rhythmic so he can gain some perspective of what is going on. The overall work Greengrass creates is truly mesmerizing but also confrontational for the way he recreates the infamous Bloody Sunday incident.

The extraordinary work of cinematographer Ivan Strasberg is definitely one of the film‘s technical highlights in terms of its verite style where there‘s a bit of grain to the look for many of the daytime scenes while utilizing natural lights that is available to maintain a sense of realism. Editor Clare Douglas does a brilliant job with the film‘s stylized editing with a constant use of jump-cuts and fade-out transitions to create a jerky rhythm to play up the chaos and tension of what goes on in the film. Production designer John Paul Kelly and art director Padraig O’Neill do excellent work on the set pieces as a lot of the locations are in Dublin while using the actual streets in Derry to create the sense of ruin that occurred at the time.

Costume designer Dinah Collin does nice work with the costumes from the uniforms the British army wear to the 1970s street clothing the protesters wear. Sound editor Danny Longhurst does a fantastic job with the sound to capture the intimacy in small moments along with the chaos that surrounds during the battle between protesters and the British army. The film’s sole piece of music in the film is in the final credits to a live version of U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday.

The casting by John and Ros Hubbard is superb for the ensemble that is created as its cast featured mostly non-actors. Among the cast in the film includes Gerard McSorley as police Chief Supt. Lagan, Kathy Keira Clarke as Ivan’s girlfriend Frances, Edel Frazer as Gerry’s girlfriend, Declan Duddy as the young protester Gerry, Mary Moulds as Bernadette Devlin, Gerard Crossan as Eamonn McCann, Tim Pigott-Smith as Major General Ford, and Simon Mann as Colonel Wilford. Finally, there’s James Nesbitt in a terrifying performance as Ivan Cooper as a man that is trying to lead a peaceful protest only to find himself in the middle of a violent battle that he couldn’t comprehend as it’s definitely one of Nesbitt’s best roles.

Bloody Sunday is an outstanding yet gripping film from Paul Greengrass for its harrowing recreation of the Sunday Bloody Sunday massacre of January of 1972. The film is definitely one of the best pieces about the Irish-British tension without taking sides as Greengrass shows a film where it’s about the human struggle as he goes right into the middle of what is happening. It’s not an easy film to watch in terms of its presentation and its emphasis on realism but it doesn’t try to hammer any ideas or give answers to questions that really can’t be asked. In the end, Bloody Sunday is a marvelous film from Paul Greengrass.

Paul Greengrass Films: (Resurrected) - (The Theory of Flight) - (The Bourne Supremacy) - United 93 - (The Bourne Ultimatum) - (Green Zone) - Captain Phillips

© thevoid99 2012

United 93

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/18/07 w/ Extensive Revisions.

The morning of September 11, 2001 seemed like any other normal morning until around 9 AM when suddenly, an airliner hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Then minutes later, a second plane hit the other tower were immediately, the entire world had changed completely. More minutes later, another plane had hit a part of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. It was around this time, a fourth plane was hijacked but unlike the three other planes, its intended target was at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Yet, what the terrorists in that plane didn't realize is that the passengers in that plane fought them and made the plane crash near a town in Pennsylvania. The plane of Flight United 93 were despite its tragedy proved to be a tale of courage in the wake of the 9/11 world.

Nearly five years after the tragedy of 9/11, two films about that flight were released. One was made-for-TV with some noted TV actors while another was released in theaters in an unconventional approach. Entitled United 93, the film tells the story of the day that changed the world as a group of passengers were hijacked by terrorists in a plane as they become aware that they're part of a new, dark world. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, whose previous credits include Bloody Sunday and The Bourne Supremacy. United 93 features a cast of unknowns in this harrowing tale of what happened on that fateful morning that changed the world.

A group of Islamic Arabs pray in the late morning as they're set to go an airport in Newwark, New Jersey planning an attack. It's morning as crews talk to each other while lead pilot Jason Dahl (J.J. Johnson) is talking to his co-pilot who checks for gas on the plane. Meanwhile at the FAA headquarters in Virgnia, new FAA chief Ben Sliney (played by himself) is checking on what is going on for the day as it seems to be another typical day. Yet, an air-traffic controller from Boston notices that American Flight 11 from that city is going off course from its destination realizing something is wrong after trying to communicate with the plane only to hear something happening in New York. Back in Newark, passengers board United 93 as they set to go to Los Angeles where following its departure, the control tower sees one of the towers of the World Trade Center smoking in the air.

When the FAA learns that American Flight 11 is missing, they see the image of the one of the World Trade Centers towers filled with smoke on a huge screen while NORAD learns that United Airlines Flight 175 and American Flight 77 are both going off course. When the second WTC tower is hit, panic ensues as Sliney takes control while NORAD tries to contact the president. Back in United 93, things seem to go well until the terrorists take over as two pilots and a stewardess are killed as one of the hijackers take over the plane going to Washington, D.C. to hit the Capitol. With news that a third plane has hit the Pentagon, Sliney makes the ultimate decision as to shut down all U.S. airspace and international flights to the U.S. Realizing what's going on, the passengers of United 93 contact their loved ones as they decide to fight back against the terrorists.

While it's a largely fictional account of what happened in that plane on that tragic day, Paul Greengrass creates a film where it relies on the imagination of the audience on what might've happened on that day. While there's not much of a plot and part of the film, particularly on the plane and typical conversations were improvised. Greengrass does create an intensity and momentum that is horrifying to watch knowing that the audience is aware of what's going on and what is going to happen. In many respects, it's Greengrass' direction and his approach to the film that really makes it engaging yet uncomfortable to watch.

Since the film features many non-professional/professional actors including Gregg Henry and David Rasche in small parts plus people like Ben Sliney playing themselves. The performances of this cast is truly amazing with Sliney being singled out for playing himself in what would be the same way he probably reacted on that day. Yet, the confusion and panic of what's going on in the traffic controls in New York, Boston, and Cleveland are understandable as well as everything in the FAA. Then, there's all the scenes on the plane where part of it is scripted including the famous tag line "Let's roll". It's in the sequences on that flight where the performances of the passengers and hijackers are wonderfully handled while the hijackers are given with some realism and not as caricature villains. It's all done naturally, especially through Greengrass' direction as he takes a cinema verite approach of hand-held cameras and very documentary-like. It's by far some of the strongest and most unique directing in any film.

Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd does some wonderful, documentary-like cinematography without any kind of flashy camerawork or something that is breathtaking. Instead, Ackroyd brings a realism and intimacy to the film's look. Editors Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson, and Christopher Rouse do amazing work in giving the film a pacing that feels realistic to the tension that goes on as well as the intensity in the sequences of the FAA, the air-traffic control centers, and the sequences in the plane.

Production designer Dominic Watkins and art directors Romek Delmata and Joanna Foley do great in re-creating the look of the plane as well as the air-traffic control, NORAD, and FAA rooms. Costume designer Dinah Collin does excellent in the costumes of what the passengers could've wore as well as the clothes that everyone else was working. Sound editors Eddy Joseph and Oliver Tarney do excellent work in some of the sound work, especially in a few sequences in trying to figure out the suspicion of what the hijackers in the other plane was saying. Music composer John Powell brings a plaintive, brooding score that plays to the film’s suspense and melancholia where it's not overdone and is the right tone for accompanying what's to come.

While it's understandable that audiences won't see this or Oliver Stone's World Trade Center due to its subject matter and nature. Still, United 93 is a compelling, harrowing film about what happened on that day when a group of passengers chose to fight back despite their tragedy. Yet, the film wisely doesn't glorify or show things that are to happen while it's a lot of credit given to Paul Greengrass for his approach and wanting to portray things realistically and pay tribute to those who died on that day. For someone who wants an idea of what happened in that play knowing that they will be extremely uncomfortable yet wants to know something. United 93 is the film to go see.

Paul Greengrass Films: (Resurrected) - (The One That Got Away) - (The Theory of Flight) - (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence) - Bloody Sunday - (The Bourne Supremacy) - (The Bourne Ultimatum) - (Green Zone) - Captain Phillips

(C) thevoid99 2011