Source Code



Source Code

Directed By: Duncan Jones (Moon)

Written By: Ben Ripley

Produced By: Mark Gordon, Jordan Wynn, Philippe Rousselet

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright 

Plot: Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train bound for Chicago, with no recollection of how he got there or why. A woman named Christina (Monaghan) knows him as Sean Fentress. When he looks into a mirror, his reflection is of another man. Before he can grasp what is going on around him, a bomb detonates, destroying the train and 'killing' Colter. He wakes up in a chamber, and is contacted by Captain Colleen Goodwin (Farmiga) and told that he is in the "Source Code" which allows him to relive the last eight minutes of a mans life, he must find the bomb onboard the train and attempt to find the bomber.

Alot of critics have compared Source Code to the 1993 Bill Murray film, Groundhog Day. The two films are very different. Groundhog Day is comedic and light hearted, whereas Source Code is a puzzle, a mind game and very serious. The film is well written and doesn't go too over the top with the time loop. It also asks alot of questions about parallel realities and how things could be changed. Throughout the action, and the suspense, Source Code looks at the human determination to say no in the face of fact.
The film is brilliantly handled by Duncan Jones, this is definately not a film with a rather large budget but no story (as many action films are)

However the thrills are maintained throughout the hour and thirty four minutes. It does leave you scratching your head in places, but all is explained and is easily understandable. This is easily Gyllenhaal's best performance since Donnie Darko and the only thing that puts a negative impact on Monaghan's performance is the one line repeated over, and over again: "That was really good advice".  It is alot pacier than you would expect for a film that repeats the same eight minutes of a mans life continuously.

However, there are certain corny parts in the movie. Gyllenhaals character has severe daddy issues and has no shame in hiding them (Several Stephen Spielberg films spring to mind) Whilst Jeffrey Wright's Boffin is almost comedic in places and is never that far away from twirling his moustache. These are the only negative points of the film in my view. As each trip back onto the train reveals another part of the puzzle, Duncan Jones also cranks up the emotional outcome of the film, which is almost predictable. Source Code isn't as complex as Jones' debut (Moon) but is very slick and well worth watching.

Written By Eammon Jacobs