A mixture of action, suspense and just-barely plausible theoretical science, director Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is in the same vein as Inception. Both films involve complicated science fiction technology with flashy names, and both leave you with questions about reality that make your head spin for hours. Don’t get me wrong – Source Code is nowhere near the genius of last summer’s dream-bending phenomenon. But it is an entertaining and surprisingly deep film.
Mainly set on a Chicago-bound commuter train (the nicest one I’ve ever seen), Source Code takes place in a world of computer programs and pocket universes.
Gyllenhaal’s Captain Colter Stevens is in a mysterious government facility where an officer (Vera Farmiga) and a scientist (Jeffrey Wright) inform him that by using the “source code” he can access the last eight minutes in the life of a man who died in a terrorist attack on a commuter train in order to find the bomber and prevent a second attack. Thus Gyllenhaal has to constantly go back to the train, and his attractive seat-mate Christina (Michelle Monaghan), only to be blown up along with the train every eight minutes. Any more plot information would give away some of the best twists of the movie. But with themes of life, death and free will, Source Code is weightier than the average Michael Bay action film.
Gyllenhaal is at his best, expertly portraying a man who weaves between mania and control. After a decade of watching his movies, I’ve decided that he can do anything. Source Code gives him a platform to display all of his talents: romantic lead, action hero and psychologically tortured protagonist. This movie hinges on Gyllenhaal’s character, and he comes through with a memorable and powerful performance.
Though the scenes with Farmiga and Wright about the nature of his mission and the source code are heavy in science and ethics, the train scenes with the ever-adorable Monaghan are surprisingly lighthearted. The two have an easy chemistry; their dialogue is breezy and fun, giving a lift to the scenes that inevitably end in tragedy.
Trippy, suspenseful, mysterious and often just plain fun, Source Code surprised me by not only being highly entertaining, but actually an expertly crafted film overall.
