Source Code is a fascinating picture, but not in a wholly positive light. The story is compelling, but smacks of a certain familiarity that keeps the viewer wondering where they’ve seen this before, only to remember, ironically, Déjà Vu. The Denzel Washington/Tony Scott pic may have been a stretch, but it certainly broke ground for the foundation that Source Code was set on. Part-thriller and largely formula, Source Code is a clean movie, well executed, but ultimately without the aggressive sense-of-self that would make it great.
Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal, the leading man everyone wants to like but who just doesn’t grab the spotlight) wakes up on a train in another man’s body. Across from him sits the beautiful Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan, the superb lead of Trucker). The first run-through goes badly, as Stevens gets erratic, denying that he knows her and fighting his environment. Eight minutes later, the train and everyone on it are blown up.
Air Force officer Colleen Goodwin (radiant Vera Farmiga, who continues to get better and better) is waiting for Steven to come back. They communicate through a camera, with Goodwin and her overbearing boss Dr. Rutledge (a truly misguided performance by Jeffrey Wright) talk on one side with Stevens in a capsule on the other. Stevens has been selected for a cutting-edge program, entering the source code of a terrorist attack that lets him relive the last eight minutes of the train passengers’ lives to solve the crime. Each time he reenters the attack, he solves a little more of the mystery, simultaneously fighting to understand what’s being done to him back in “the real world.”
Directed by David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, who was hot off his success with the claustrophobic festival flick Moon, the film rings with the eager enthusiasm of a first-time big-budget director. It’s creative, interesting, and an abnormal story. And yet, it never takes off into something new and exciting. Penned by Ben Ripley, whose credits include two Species sequels,Source Code takes the Final Destination formula and introduces it to the tech thriller. Set up the death, watch it unfold, start over. Set up the death, watch it unfold, start over. What saves the film is the “real world” story, pitting Stevens against the government that has no time for his emotions, but relentlessly throws him back into the attack again and again looking for answers.
Funnily enough, after emphasizing that there is a tight eight minute limit on each source code visit, none of them actually take eight minutes. Some breeze by, others stretch out. The tragedy of the film, and so many like it, is the heavy reliance on computer effects. The train crash, which repeats and repeats, never looks like more than just a cartoon. Sad as it is to say, the days of practical effects may be behind, and movies are the worse for it. Filmmakers can blow up the world a hundred times over for less money than they’ve ever ponied up before, but the cost is the clean, crisp realism that came with practicals. Christopher Nolan still uses them, so no wonder his movies looks so darn good.
Source Code seeks to be artful, marrying a festival, indie sensibility with the big-budget thriller. For certain fleeting moments, it is a quite beautiful film, while other beats fall flat. At the end of the day, however, the ride is worth reliving. The ending veers toward the cheese factor, with some awkward, awful lines landing on Jake’s lap, but throughout the cleanness of vision and commitment of all involved carries it through.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The audio commentary track with Duncan Jones is worth meandering through, with contributions from writer Ben Ripley and star Gyllenhaal. The main feature, and the only other one, is Access: Source Code. A scene-specific feature, it allows you to access various things from interviews to behind-the-scenes throughout the film.
"Source Code" is on sale July 26, 2011 and is rated PG13. Action, Thriller. Directed by Duncan Jones. Written by Ben Ripley. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeffrey Wright, Michelle Monaghan , Vera Farmiga.
