Source Code (2011)

This sci-fi thriller is exciting, entertaining, with some romance, plenty of twists, and, to us, an unexpected ending. I felt I had learned too much before seeing it, so suffice it to say Colter (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a Chicago-bound commuter train with no idea why he's there. His last memory is being in a battle zone in Afghanistan, yet Christina, a lovely stranger sitting across from him on the train, seems to know him and he's baffled. All is revealed, bit by bit, in a first rate feature debut by young screenwriter Ben Ripley. Director Duncan Jones (Moon) is David Bowie's son and talented enough that he doesn't need to trade on his famous dad, whose birth name is also Jones.

Gyllenhaal (after I wrote about him in Brothers he was in Love and Other Drugs), easy on the eyes, keeps us involved as he carries out his mission while his truth is dawning on him. Michelle Monaghan (first came to my attention in North Country (2005), was great in Gone Baby Gone (2007), and had a cameo in Somewhere, among others) plays Christina as sweet, vulnerable, and lovable. Vera Farmiga (The Departed (2006), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008), Up in the Air, which earned her an Oscar nomination) is cast against type as Colter's no-nonsense commanding officer, Jeffrey Wright (I wrote about him in Cadillac Records) plays the computer mastermind who has written the source code of the title, and Michael Arden (just watched one of his Off the Map episodes today--he plays Pher, the doofus who lost his toes) shows some depth as Derek Frost (I'm not telling you who Frost is because it would be a major spoiler).

The original music by Chris Bacon (here's one track, then follow the youtube paths for more) is terrific, even though Bacon was apparently Jones' second choice (read this). Veteran cinematographer Don Burgess (Oscar nominated for Forrest Gump (1994), some of my other faves of his work are Forget Paris (1995), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), and the first Spider-Man (2002)) gives us beautiful visuals to go with the special effects created by at least seven sub-contractors by my count.

Jack and I loved this and it has been on my mind so much I wanted to get it written now, ahead of a few others in the blog queue, so that you can see it on the big screen. Seventh of the top ten in last weekend's box office, it has the highest rottentomatoes rating of the ten, with 90% from critics and 87% from audiences. When you see it, if you haven't read reviews beforehand, you'll appreciate the restraint I've shown in omitting comparisons to other movies.