Big Screen Peter: Source Code

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie.

review by Peter Lewis

At the risk of appearing unduly reductive, “Source Code” – a new thriller from Duncan Jones and starring Jake Gyllenhaal – is Groundhog Day laced with a metaphysical mindbender.

Where Phil (Bill Murray) bumbled his way toward figuring out how to find happiness in Groundhog Day, Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is tasked with not only finding that peace of mind, but must do so while thwarting a terror plot against the city of Chicago.

Stevens is in a special program with the United States Air Force that allows him to travel into the residual memories of dead people. The timetable on the memory bank is a mere eight minutes, so each time he’s sent back into the “simulation,” he relives those eight minutes.

Waking in the Source Code, Stevens is in his own head space, but he occupies the body of teacher Sean Fentress. This experiential dichotomy creates a high level of confusion and disorientation for Stevens as he tries to make sense of his situation. As the film progresses, his main mission appears as a secondary objective. He is searching for understanding, processing both realities in search of something tangible about himself.

The film is very much a science fiction project, but has as much in common with Notorious as it does RoboCop. And this was made apparent from the onset of the film, with tense, Hitchcockian music supplying a chilling back-line from the opening montage through the closing credits. It’s this taut insistence that holds the film together. As confusing as the concept behind the “Source Code” may be, the plot of the film is excellently written and executed to a near flawless perfection.

Of particular note was the performance given by Gyllenhaal. As Captain Colter Stevens, Gyllenhaal is charming, vulnerable and — above all else — damned determined. It’s an intoxicating mixture, offering viewers a captivating reminder of the nuanced skill possessed by Gyllenhaal.

What’s more, he’s matched by two competent actors flanking him on each side of his reality. Within the “Source Code,” Michelle Monaghan plays Christina Warren, a colleague with thinly concealed interest in Sean Fentress.

Outside the Source Code is Vera Farmiga playing Captain Colleen Goodwin, a warmhearted and conscientious soldier that quickly forges a telling bond with Stevens.

Both women are smitten with the same consciousness, but are on separate planes. The connection they share with Gyllenhaal is fleeting, but the bond is sincere and deeply resonate. As the film draws to a close, the taut thriller shifts, donning a layer of emotional tenderness that underlies the sympathetic connections between the trio.

That’s what allows” Source Code” to glimpse a level of transcendence. It’s a thrilling, mind-bending race against time, but more than anything else it’s an exploration of emotional reality and how we deal with the moments we are given. So forget the quantum physics and parabolic calculus required to understand the science behind it all, just enjoy the jolting, stressful ride to its tender cessation.

• Source Code is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

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