It is sometimes forgotten that Tom Hanks
spent the 1980s doing relentless comedy films (such as The Money Pit, Turner &
Hooch, The ‘Burbs and Big – all of which are brilliant in
their own way.) Then in 1990 he took a
more serious role in Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Bonfire Of The Vanities, where he played a Wall Street yuppie that
has a public breakdown after keeping the secret of his mistress knocking down a
teenager with his car. From this point
on in his career (albeit with some exceptions) Hanks has seemed to gravitate
towards characters that are alone amongst a crowd of unsympathetic or
misunderstanding onlookers.
Philadelphia, Forrest
Gump, Apollo 13, Cast Away, The Terminal, Charlie
Wilson’s War, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan and arguably even Toy Story all feature Hanks playing a
protagonist who is symbolically (or literally) detached or stranded away from
the rest of his peers – Captain Phillips is the latest installment of that
trend…
Hanks plays the eponymous captain of a
freight liner which is set to travel through the Somali Basin as it delivers
commercial cargo and international aid to the east coast of Africa. Intercut with the liner preparing to sail,
we are introduced to a number of Somali pirates recruiting members to try and
capture a ship for ransom. After a
number of attempts on the ship, they board and take Philips hostage for 10
million dollars.
The amazing thing about this film is
that it is based on a true story (of which the veracity is being somewhat
questioned),
yet still plays out like a standard action thriller – Die Hard on the ocean. I don’t feel the need to question the events
as it’s the movie that I’m interested in, and the narrative is believable
enough compared to most action films on offer.
During the kidnapping, the full might of
the American military descends on the small lifeboat to negotiate the return of
the captain, yet there are moments in the film where Greengrass allows some
sympathy with the pirates. In one instance,
Philips says, “there’s got to be more than being a fisherman and kidnapping
people?” only for the leader of the pirates to offer in return “Maybe in
America…maybe in America”. Although
there is an obvious emphasis on the heroism of Phillips, there is a vague understanding
that this is all that the pirates have in life.
The film is a tale of desperation in two ways: the desperate hope held
by the American captain and the desperate necessity portrayed by the Somalis.
The final close-ups of Tom Hanks as he
is being rescued (spoiler alert!) are amazingly powerful and show why he has
become so perfect for these kinds of roles.
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