Captain Phillips - a taut and relentlessly pulsating thriller

If there were a recipe for the ideal film to kick-start an international festival brimming with films spanning a wide-range of genres and national origins it would be as follows: Find a taut and relentlessly pulsating thriller directed by a home-grown filmmaker, throw in one of cinema’s most widely adored actors - as well as a startling showing from a debutant performer - and bring to the boil. The result is Captain Phillips, the enthralling new film from British director Paul Greengrass and the people’s favourite; Tom Hanks.

Following on stylistically from Greengrass’s previous films (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone), Captain Phillips is another dramatic telling of a real life event from the director. In the same vain as Bloody Sunday and United 93, Greengrass brings a considerate approach to a true story with high emotional stakes and raw emotions. Based on the 2009 hijacking of a US cargo ship by Somali pirates, Captain Richard Phillips endeavours to protect his crew whilst safely negotiating an extremely hostile situation.

Honouring his responsibility as Captain, Phillips engages with the Somali Captain to reach a deal. Ensuing is a fraught battle of intellects as Phillips attempts to disrupt the pirate’s plans enough for rescue to arrive. But as the stakes are ever increasingly ratcheted up, Phillips comes to realise the motives behind his capture are more complex than he first realised.

Even as the film escalates towards its wave-crashing crescendo, the parallel action and rapport between Tom Hanks’ Phillips and Barkhad Abdi’s Muse is what steers the ship into the dark, dangerous and compelling waters that makes Captain Phillips sail. Awards are almost certainly heading both their way and even for someone of Hanks’ exceptional acting prowess, his performance by the finale has him cast on an island of his own. For a debutant such as Abdi to more than hold his own in the presence of Hanks is something to behold.

Despite Greengrass’s now infamous use of the distinctive ‘shaky cam’ aesthetic to create a realistic atmosphere and tone to the drama, the director never looses sight of the human centre of the film. And with Tom Hanks deploying his seemingly effortless ability to play the average Joe audiences can immerse themselves with, there is a genuine emotional depth and weight to complement the visual flair of this thriller stuck powerfully in high gear.