Weekly Review -- Post-capacity

Source Code (2011) -- The human mind is an everlasting source of awe and inspiration. It is also fantastic fodder for science fiction works, some of them groundbreaking, which is exactly the epithet that can be given to Duncan Jones's latest film.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself on a train, talking to a woman he does not know and wondering how he got there, when the train explodes and... he does not die because, as he discovers upon waking, he is part of a secret government experiment called Source Code. The experiment places him on the aforementioned train in order to find a bomber; if he does not succeed, he returns over and over again, always with only eight minutes to complete his mission. Along the way, he begins to question the shady doctor (Jeffrey Wright) behind the operation and fall for the enigmatic woman (Michelle Monaghan) he met on the train...

As he has proven with his 2009 debut Moon, Jones likes taking chances with his material, going for risky innovation rather than polished reiteration. His new film does not only ask the audience to pay attention to every detail, as every great film should; it also asks that the audience forget their assumptions about what science fiction really is. He achieves this goal by placing an ordinary man, played masterfully by Gyllenhaal, in a set of unimaginable circumstances and having him essentially fight for his life. Under the guise of science and mystery, Jones questions universal truths and concepts, rendering Ben Ripley's screenplay into a multi-dimensional philosophical piece.

The ending is deeply contemplative and subject to debate and interpretation. You will want to examine and dissect every bit of the final fifteen minutes, which is why I think it is important not to discuss this ending in reviews, even under the heading of spoilers. I believe that every viewer should discuss it at length, and I believe that finding meaning in it that makes sense to yourself is more relevant to your experience than reading anyone else's observations.

The performances are solid throughout. As I mentioned, Gyllenhaal is incredible, deftly blending apprehension and intrepidity as Stevens. Monaghan's reluctant sidekick provides a much needed balance between the threats, while Vera Farmiga is a strong presence as the kindly Captain Colleen Goodwin, Stevens's guide through the procedure. Wright lends his usual air of authority to Dr. Rutledge, the inventor of the program.

Source Code is one of the best science fiction films of the past five years, and quite possibly the new decade. It is a rumination on being human, hidden within a structure of time-shifting realities. Its every frame will thrill you and its story will keep you riveted but, most importantly, it will make you use your brain like not many recent films do.

10/10