British film director, Paul Greengrass, rightfully earned world-wide recognition for his harrowing docudrama, UNITED 93 (2006), earning himself his first Best Director nomination, and the American Film Institute’s choice for Movie of the Year. Greengrass had taken an entirely unknown cast, and made us believe every single minute of the horrific tale of the hijacked plane on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, PA. Having no known stars in the film gave UNITED 93 such a tremendously realistic feel when coupled with the hand-held cinematography and the crisp editing of the footage. It felt as if somehow we were witnessing a documentary actually captured from the doomed airline cabin, as well as from the flight control personnel on the ground. And herein lies the irritating problem with Greengrass’ newest docudrama, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, the true story about the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. Like UNITED 93, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is brilliantly cast almost entirely by completely unknown actors, but in the latter case, with the crucial exception of the lead role of Phillips. Instead of a real as the evening news, action/thriller/ film-bio, with the casting of two-time Oscar winner, Tom Hanks, in the lead role, it is almost impossible to ever forget that we are watching a well-crafted “movie” with a super star in the lead role, which sadly takes away from the realism of the otherwise outstanding film. Casting Hanks as Phillips is so obviously a financial (rather than artistic) decision that it just reeks of corporate greed on the behalf of Columbia and Sony Pictures. After Greengrass’ huge critical acclaim lauded on UNITED 93 with an entirely unknown cast, it boggles my mind that the studios would feel the need to tie a mega star in the lead role of Phillips in order to” green light” the project. I kept thinking what the result would’ve been if Icon Productions had insisted that director Mel Gibson cast a mega movie star like Johnny Depp in the lead role of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (2004), along with the cast of otherwise unknown faces, instead of using little known actor Jim Caviezel in the title role? This is not to say that Hanks doesn’t do some fine work in the film, in what is probably his best performance since his 1994 Oscar win for the iconic, FORREST GUMP. However, one never forgets that we are watching Hanks whenever he his on the screen. What could’ve been a thoroughly engaging and utterly realist docudrama, instead comes off as a star vehicle for to ensure a huge financial success for the film. This is a role that should’ve been given to another unknown face, which Greengrass seems to have a supernatural talent for finding in all of the other roles in the film. Most noteworthy is the unbelievably charismatic and menacing performance Greengrass gets out of the four pirates that overtake the cargo ship, with the stand-out, star-making debut of Barkhad Abdi as “Muse” the leader of the pack. Greengrass found Abdi (and the other three Somalian immigrants to America) in an open call casting audition in Minneapolis, MN., of all places! None of the four newbies had ever been in a film before, but under Greengrass’ confident direction, the four young men come off like seasoned pros. But it is Abdi that proves to be the scene stealer in every frame of film that captures his menacing eyes and gaunt, desperate face. Abdi has this calm and controlled slow boil just below the surface of his skin, and is absolutely riveting to watch. The Hawk is rooting for this newcomer to shock the world further by earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his debut work here. Oscar will look kindly to CAPTAIN PHILLIPS for other awards as well, including a likely Best Picture nomination, and a solid shot at a second Best Director nomination for Greengrass. The film will also assuredly be a contender in other categories too such as for Best Editing, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay. A sixth Best Actor nomination for Hanks is also likely in the cards as well, despite my disappointment in his being cast in the role. However, fans of Hanks (and I’m aware there are legions of them throughout the world) will enjoy seeing their favorite modern “everyman” in the heroic role of CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, in what is undoubtedly a very good movie. It’s just since the rest of the cast is populated with such outstanding unknown performers, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS would’ve been a far better without him (or any other major movie star) in the role, with such a supremely talented director like Paul Greengrass at the helm. Grade = A-.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 03:28:35 +0000
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