Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Catherine Keener
Rated PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.
Currently available for rental from most retailers, online streaming services and kiosks.
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Supporting Actor (Barkhad Abdi)
Best Writing- Adapted Screenplay
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Paul Greengrass' CAPTAIN PHILLIPS translates to the screen the news story that had the United States in a tense grip for three days as a pirate raid off the coast of Somalia had developed into an intense three-day standoff between the pirates and U.S. Navy, with the lives of American hostages hanging in the balance.
It's told as a story of two men, both fighting for their existence as working-class men. Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), takes command of the unarmed freighter ship, the MV Maersk Alabama, reluctantly, but out of the necessity to make ends meet. With a crew of 20 men, Phillips is tasked with taking the ship from Oman, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, around the Horn of Africa, to its destination in Mombasa, Kenya. To do so, they must sail through treacherous waters, where there is a high risk of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia.
Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi), a pirate struggling to make ends meet in Somalia, takes the position of captain in an expedition to hijack a freighter ship in order to obtain ransom money. Slight of size, he nonetheless proves his boldness and menace to his crew members and leads the attack on the Maersk Alabama aboard a small skiff, but once on board, the pirates are unable to work the ship and Captain Phillips is doing everything possible to mislead and debilitate them. Ultimately, in an effort to get the pirates off the ship, Phillips is taken as Muse's hostage aboard the ship's enclosed lifeboat vessel. With the intention of taking Captain Phillips back to Somalia and holding him for a multimillion dollar ransom, Muse's crew soon finds themselves in the no-win situation of a standoff with US Navy Destroyers and Navy SEALs.
Without a nomination for Best Director, this is essentially an "honorable mention" in the Best Picture category, and in fact, its odds outside of the sound categories are very slim despite a hugely positive response from critics. Filmmaker Paul Greengrass is a hugely acclaimed filmmaker who's made a name for himself with searingly intense, grounded action-thrillers such as THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM and the controversial first major film based on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, UNITED 93. Certainly for anyone who saw UNITED 93, he was the obvious pick for CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, having proven a deftness for crafting true-to-life suspense with well-rounded characters from multiple perspectives, and the absence of his name among the Best Director nominations was a bit of a surprise. More surprising was the absence of Hanks' name amongst the Best Actor nominees, given it was one of the best performances of his twice Academy Award-winning career. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to have stuck as prominently in the minds of Academy voters as much as others, although a well-deserved but unexpected nomination for Best Supporting Actor was made for first-timer Barkhad Abdi. Again, he's not a frontrunner, and I'm skeptical thus far about his versatility, but his was certainly a case of perfect casting. Unfortunately, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS looks like it could be a completely shut out on Oscar night, not to make any specific point, but just for lack of attention. It did win the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay, for which it is also nominated in the Oscars, so there is potential for an upset there, but the competition is strong and it isn't altogether deserving in that respect.
Regardless of its slim chances for Oscar gold, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is definitely one of the better Best Picture nominees this year. I predict a shut out.
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| Barkhad Abdi, second from the left, as Abduwali Muse. |
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