Source Code is not your typical sci-fi thriller. Its brilliant plot, acting and directing make it one of the best films to debut in 2011 so far.
Director Duncan Jones, probably best known for being the son of David Bowie, manipulates the time frame of the movie as well as anyone since Christopher Nolan in Memento.
In Source Code, Captain Stevens, played by Jake Gyllenhall is an army helicopter pilot that wakes up on a train headed for Chicago. When he looks at his reflection in the window, he sees that he is another man, Sean Fentress. Naturally, he freaks out—his last memory being of him flying in Afghanistan—and nearly causes a riot on the train. All of a sudden, a bomb explodes on the train and Stevens wakes up chained in a dark chamber. He learns from Captain Goodwin, a woman on a flickering monitor, that he is in the “source code”.
At first, Stevens believes that the whole thing is part of his training, but he eventually realizes that he is on a mission, not in a simulation. He has been sent back in time, not to change the past, but to discover who bombed the train, so that further terrorist attacks can be prevented.
Stevens is sent back in to the source code countless times, against his will, and his only way to get out is to discover the bomber.
Jones’ ability to keep the film from becoming repetitive, although the audience is subjected to the same scene over and over again, was magnificent. Gyllenhaal’s character is able to influence the scene each time. In doing so, Jones gradually reveals shocking details in the plot, and the audience is slowly able to figure out what is actually going on.
The film does lag a bit in the middle, though, as Stevens’ inability to comprehend what the audience already knows becomes frustrating. This is the film’s only true weakness, but its rapid beginning and unpredictable conclusion more than make up for it.
Source Code finds Jake Gyllenhaal at his finest. This is the Gyllenhaal that we have seen in Brokeback Mountain and Jarhead, not the flat character actor we saw in Prince of Persia. It is good to see him back in peak form because he has gotten a chance to be a significant player in Hollywood.
Michelle Monaghan stars alongside Gyllenhaal as Christina Warren, Captain Stevens’ love interest. Monaghan was perfect in this role. While it was not exactly the most challenging of performances—she played the same scene several times with a few minor changes—her interactions with her suddenly strange friend are very believable.
While on the surface Source Code appears to just be another pulse-thumping thriller, it is also a commentary on human life. Is it worth exploiting one soldier if, by using him, you could potentially save millions of people? Source Code asks the audience this question, and during the film, it is hard not to side with Stevens.
Does that make Dr. Rutledge (played by Jeffrey Wright), the genius inventor of the source code, a villain or a hero? The film seems to side with Captain Stevens, but it also gives the viewers a chance to make their own decision.
Source Code explores so many science fiction topics in this film: time travel, parallel universes, the power of the brain, the extent of memories and the limits of death.
Source Code was a hell of a ride, a combination of Avatar’s mental link, allowing one person’s mind to inhabit another’s, and Groundhog Day’s time repetition.
While its visual effects were not anything out of this world, Source Code’s smart plot, its crisp directing and its excellent acting make it a must-see flick. Besides, its mind-blowing ending alone makes it worth seeing. Source Code grades out as an A-.
Cory Emerson can be reached at cory.emerson@spartans.ut.edu.