The Old Men and the Sea

Captain Phillips

Director: Paul Greengrass Writers: Billy Ray, Richard Phillips (novel), Stephan Talty (novel) Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Catherine Keener Runtime: 134 minutes Certification: 12A

Leave it to Paul Greengrass, the man behind United 93, to direct another taut, claustrophobic thriller, but this time set on the choppy sea waters instead of inside a plane. Based on the real-life Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) whose cargo ship was boarded by Somali pirates wielding machine guns, Captain Phillips, is a survival drama in which Phillips needs to muster up the courage, strength and intelligence required to make it through this tough ordeal. Suddenly thrust into the role of having to protect his crew as well as look out for his own life, this ordinary family man with no particular skills when it comes to dealing with terrorists faces the most challenging task of his life.

Shot in authentic locations (the ships, the ocean, the whole lot), the film’s heightened realism is what gives this the extra kick, as once the pirates start chasing their target with no sign of slowing down despite the unkind waves, it certainly marks one of the best things Greengrass has done in his already admirable directorial career. The shoddily defended cargo ship does what it can to protect itself and repel outside invaders, under the calm, level-headed command of the Captain (he even proves to be an excellent shot, attempting to derail their plan by firing flare-guns), but after an extended scene of unbearable tension that sees the pirates play around with their access ladder, they eventually board, which is where the stand-off begins.

Keeping his cool and trying to come up with a plan is Captain Phillips, using his ship knowledge to cleverly navigate his way around the pirates with his words. None of the crew on board are trained in fighting, most certainly not against heavily armed Somalis who will stop at nothing to grab as much as they can. The strategy for the crew is to remain hidden at all cost, as Phillips doesn’t want a hostage situation. There are many tense moments where the cast plays the most deadly version of hide-and-seek, one that escalates to something of a far higher stake that won’t be spoiled here. What’s intelligent about Greengrass’ approach to what may have been a simple, straightforward idea is that his “villains” are never as black and white as you would initially have expected them to be. The pirates live in a village where residents are constantly pushed and harassed to hijack profitable ships to pass on to their elders and leaders. It’s evident that this is the only kind of life they have ever known, and it’s refreshing to see a portrayal of the non-American antagonist in a blockbuster production to be given much more depth and screen-time than what is typically shown.

The cast of the Somali pirates, all of them non-professional actors in their motion picture debuts, are simply stunning. Muse (Barkhad Abdi), the one spear-heading the operation is particularly excellent – he is as menacing as he comes across in the trailers (“look at me…look at me…I’m the captain now” he says. And we’re all inclined to believe him), and his hostile one-on-one face-off with Hanks works exceptionally in the film’s favour. There is a certain level of humanity each pirate shows throughout the film, and it’s in these character interactions the film becomes unique in showing us a balanced look at both sides of the story.

Hanks is of course as effortlessly convincing as ever from the beginning, but his performance hits a real high point in the film’s final moments, as everything crescendos in scale and intensity along with his portrayal of the real-life character on screen.

There is an issue with pacing towards the end as the film tries to sustain its tension for as long as it possibly can, for around two hours. The United States government takes absolutely forever to get a plan in place, which is both worrying (good) and frustrating (bad) for the audience, the latter feeling taking over as the rescue mission starts rolling out a touch too slowly. The sun rises and falls at warped speed, making the timeline difficult to fully get your head around, but given the note-perfect ways in which the film opens and closes, this shows you can count on anything Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks get their hands on.

All is Lost

Director: J. C. Chandor Writer: J. C. Chandor Starring: Robert Redford Runtime: 106 minutes Certification: 12A

That Robert Redford is 75+ and actually walked away from this film set alive is unbelievable in itself. The ordeal he’s put through for J. C. Chandor’s survival thriller looks positively insane, and although the credit mentions the use of a stunt double, there is no doubt this must have been a daring, physical shoot for the veteran actor.

A couple of things to be aware of before going to see the film: there is only one person in the cast. Only Redford stars in the film and really, that’s more than enough. He has plenty of that old-man star power and charisma to power through the film. Something else to bear in mind: there is virtually no dialogue. Aside from the opening narration and a couple of scenes where Redford quite understandably uses curse words, Our Man (that’s the credited character name) says not much else. And yet All Is Lost is one compelling thriller of man vs. nature where it’s the man’s resourceful resilience that shines through. Slight damage to the side of his ship turns out to be the least of Our Man’s problems. Yes, there’s a hole through which sea water is entering, but after some precise, methodical repair work, he’s back on track out in the open sea. This is of course until a massive storm decides to strike. With sinister sound of the wind and heavy rain, things get worse and worse for Our Man as he’s hit with one back luck after the other.

The poor old man is tossed and turned around time after time as mother nature proves to be a force too powerful for any skilled man at the sea to realistically handle. The alarmingly high waves and hail-like rain is a terrifying sight to behold, and the scale of every disaster is simply astonishing, which makes it easy for the audience to be genuinely concerned and frightened for Our Man’s safety. The camera follows him around in whatever situation and this strangely documentary-like style is a compelling one, closely observing each and every step of his fight.

It’s an uplifting, triumphant tale of the human survival spirit, overcoming whatever seemingly impossible obstacle that comes your way, with a muted yet powerhouse performance from Redford. Essentially this can be summed up as 2012’s Life of Pi except without the animals, and with more disaster ship-wreck scenarios.

The scope may be a narrow one for sure, but you won’t find yourself wishing for more faces to make up the cast - because Redford on his own can more than hold his own, in this thrilling new adventure from a very young and promising director.