Source Code. Rated M (science fiction themes, violence and infrequent coarse language). 93 minutes. Directed by Duncan Jones. Screenplay by Ben Ripley.
Just as he did with his stunning debut feature Moon (2009), Jones escorts us flawlessly into a fantastic science fiction-infused world of parallel realities featuring a main character (armed forces helicopter pilot Colter Stevens played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who exists in circumstances not of their choosing. It’s a complex and fascinating set-up – perfectly matched here by the excellent performances of Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan (Due Date), Vera Farmiga (Up in the air) and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace).
When he awakes up from a trance-like sleep, Stevens is utterly bewildered to find himself onboard a train that is speeding toward Chicago with his ‘girlfriend’ Christina (Monaghan). Minutes later, after a series of beautifully observed details of onboard run-of-the-mill activity, an exploding bomb kills everyone – except Stevens, who begins to learn the reason for his new existence and the terrible circumstances of the situation in which he now finds himself.
Jones, cinematographer Don Burgess (The Book of Eli, Spider-Man, Castaway) and editor Paul Hirsch (Mission: Impossible) don’t miss a beat, and Ripley’s tight screenplay (with an obvious debt to Christopher Nolan’s Inception) manages to efficiently and inventively negotiate the multitude of complex layers between altered realities and each new resulting circumstance. Only once (in a pointless and verbose sequence where the ‘source code’ of the title is explained) does the script risk crossing the line between patronising us with techno-babble and trusting that we are more than capable of suspending disbelief and going along for the ride.
Ms Farmiga’s wonderful performance as ‘Colleen Goodwin’ is mostly responsible for the success of the way in which the story unfolds, and her handling of the difficult challenges associated with defining precisely what kind of future Stevens will experience are beautifully handled – providing the film with its unexpectedly haunting ending.
Ultimately though, the grand themes associated with ‘what you would change about your life if you were given the opportunity’ and ‘making every second count’ roll out with an eery familiarity, but Source Code is most definitely a film worth spending the time deciphering.
Pictured: Jake Gyllenhaal and Vera Farmiga in Source Code.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
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