Captain Phillips - a review

Everyone loves a story of the hero – a moral exemplar, personifying the right and the good even in the face of calamitous antagonism, overwhelming odds and the lures of evil. One of the most conspicuous, pertinent and disquieting thoughts invoked by such stories of such individuals has always been, for me, ‘how would I act were I in his/her place?’ Those of us who are born into a time and a place of abnormal peace, order and tranquility  available only to a very small proportion of the world’s population even in the 21^st century, can often live our whole lives without the opportunity to be faced with these testing moments. While it is of the greatest pleasures to indulge ourselves with the thought of standing up for our principles in the heroic tradition, I think most of us would have felt the rat in the viscera stirring.

Captain Phillips is a film about the trials and tribulations of the titular captain of a cargo ship which was attacked by Somali pirates and his subsequent 5 day ordeal as the hostage of the buccaneers. The most noteworthy things about the story depicted in this film at the outset are that it is a real story and that it has occurred very recently (in 2009 as a matter of fact). The proximity of the story and the intimate and engrossing way that it is shot (distinctive of the direction of Paul Greengrass) makes it impossible not to put oneself in the unfortunate shoes of the captain, who was forced to make some very important decisions.

**Spoilers ahead!**

The Maersk Alabama hijacking incident occurred in April of 2009 off the coast of Somalia, a water rife with piracy. The merchant vessel, with a crew of 20, was attacked and boarded by 4 pirates in a skiff. It is somehow ludicrous to think that 4 kids (the pirates were later confirmed to all be under 20 years of age) in a dilapidated skiff can possibly take a 150m long vessel. Despite knowing the story (or at least the general picture of the outcomes), the tension in the film was unrelenting.

 

The tiny skiff attacking the behemoth

The film deserves praise for its brief but effective sketching of the lives of the pirates on land – the desolation, the poverty and the chaotic, dangerous and precarious existence that goes someway to make sense of the outrageous risks they take. Whilst not excusing their actions (and no right thinking person would), it allows a link of empathy to form between viewers and antagonists. The Somali cast assembled for this film are all extremely well cast and exude raw charisma. It also plays an interesting contrast - one of Hanks, the experienced captain, who, on his way to the airport, talking to his wife in the car about globalization and worrying about the rise in competition for jobs for their kids. On the other hand, Muse, a minor pirate skiff captain, who was awakened from his nap in his shambling hut by his overbearing and violent boss to choose a crew from the rabble of jobless, bored and reckless young men to waylay a ship. 

 

The pirates, Muse, the leader, second from left

Tom Hanks excels in this type of role, playing the every-man put into an exceptional situation. His character allows us to project our sympathy and to embody the character, feel his dilemmas, pain and angst. To traverse the waters near Somali is to knowingly risk piracy. Richard Phillips was portrayed as a man who felt his responsibilities and took them seriously. There is an interesting episode soon after the actual incident where several of the crew members sued the shipping company and captain Phillips for unnecessarily exposing them to the risk of piracy by ignoring recent reports of piracy in the area and disregarding a warning not to be within 600 miles of the coast of Somalia. The lawsuit is, as far as I know, on going. 

The apprehension built up at the first contact of the pirates as two blips on the radar till the ‘face to face’ contact of Phillips and the head pirate Muse through binoculars was very well done. However, the film escalates to its full height when the Phillips was held hostage by the pirates as they made their getaway on the ship’s fully-enclosed lifeboat after their hijacking attempt backfires. The claustrophobic environment and Greengrass’s camera style makes a splendid marriage, purveying the feelings of the oppressive heat, tension and atmosphere like a keg of dynamite ready to blow. The focus shifts to Muse. The interaction between Phillips and Muse is very fascinating, epitomised when Phillips tells Muse “You don’t have to do this, there are other ways [to make a living].” Muse replies “Maybe in America…Maybe in America”. There is a deep sense of vanquished frustration and wistfulness. The notion that there is a love/hate relationship with America, that the envy of the wealth and opulence and freedom and the fact that the urging and avarice for those self same things that kindle their hate are one and the same. This is an interesting and I think accurate analysis of the psychology of the pirates and points to the fact that envy is one of the most fundamental drives in human nature. Hence the biblical commandment ‘thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house or wife or oxen or slaves’ in Exodus and Deuteronomy is a self-defeating commandment bound to fail as it commands the impossible (as with the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself, which is much more ridiculous). This is a very humanising moment as it shows that these people, often portrayed by media (perhaps not meaning to) as faceless men of evil who are avaricious and simple. They are indeed the same as us, with the same wants and aspirations but are driven down by circumstance (and, most importantly, personal failings) to lower ones self respect and ethics.  Counterpointing the question ‘what will we do if I was in Phillips’ shoes’ is the equally if not more troubling question ‘what would I do if I were in Muse’s shoes?’

 

The actual lifeboat, now in a museum

As the trouble is relayed to the military, the machinery of the US Navy kicks into gear. The sleek nature of the response and the well-trained, matter-of-fact and perhaps most impressive above all, rational approach by the most technologically advanced naval unit is very impressive (and, as far as I can tell by quick research, quite accurate to the facts). Verging on being pornography for the military minded, the portrayal of a cold-headed and calm approach is much more refreshing and realistic than the usual gun-toting, flagrantly maverick approach by the usual movie military we are proffered by Hollywood. Even the Hollywood-esque ending to the hostage situation, which I will not divulge, is apparently as it happened. This awe-inspiring military might against the 4 teenagers with AK-47s almost makes one side with the pirates. 

The final scene of the film also does it credit. Instead of ending with the high of victory, becoming yet another 'triumph of America' film, it focuses on Phillips, a man in shock, being looked after by a nurse on board the American battleship like a babe. It seems that the scene was put in as an afterthought but it is very effective in drawing focus once more on the personal element and the horrendous emotional cost of the ordeal. It reaffirms the fact that Phillips is a very ordinary man but that even ordinary people can act with great courage, guile, intelligence morality and decency when confronted with great adversary. The notion of the mighty hero can be useful but is ultimately crude. There are many people whose lives are examples of smaller, quieter, local but often transformative heroisms we can appreciate and try to emulate. This, I think, is very reassuring. Final verdict: Captain Phillips is a great film both in story and execution. It avoids the temptation to over moralise and in doing so is a better film for it.

Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

                                                      - Alfred Tennyson