I am always game for a thriller with a fresh point-of-view. 2011 was a good year for the genre, with the release of strong films like Inception, Unknown and The Adjustment Bureau. Source Code follows up those successes nicely.
Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an Afghanistan combat veteran. He is a pilot involved with a special project being conducted by the Air Force. The concept is to reassign an eight minute block of time by injecting Steven's consciousness into a person who was recently deceased. The twist is that the consciousness is inserted into the eight minutes prior to the death, allowing for an overlapping of consciousness where memory can be retained from the event and recalled when Stevens is returned to the present. The concept of past and present become muddled as Stevens attempts to change history, which is not possible.
Stevens awakens on a passenger train heading into Chicago with morning commuters. He has taken the consciousness of Sean Fentress (Frederick De Grandpre) who is traveling with a lovely young woman named Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). Christina seems to react to Stevens' repeated iterations of time reassignment, which gives him the idea that the past can actually be affected. Stevens repeatedly travels back to Sean's consciousness in a desperate attempt to identify the individual who bombed this train and is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in downtown Chicago. In the meantime, Stevens examines his own consciousness in an attempt to understand his own fate.
Source Code succeeds as a quality suspense film with flying colors. The concept is fresh and unique, putting an interesting spin on a traditional concept. I did have one issue with the resolution of the story (Spoiler - Christina gets off the train with Sean at one point. Sean is hit by another train, sending him back into the experiment. Christina is never returned. While this may have spawned an alternate reality, it did not appear to affect the real world. So it doesn't jive with the concept that the real world could be changed through the source code when an alternate ending is eventually achieved. End Spoiler).
Other than a few minor flaws and unexplained circumstances, the writing was exceptional. The character development added strength to the film. Rather than relying on the dazzling special effects, writer Ben Ripley opted to give us substance. The characters have lives, emotions and unanswered questions. The characters made the story matter, engulfing the audience with concern for the outcome. The dialogue was fresh. The plot was complex, interesting and intelligent. This is Ripley's first original feature length film (he did Species III, which isn't exactly original material). Based on this film, I would be inclined to see Source Code 2 which has been announced but not scheduled for a release year.
Gyllenhaal was well cast as the male lead in this film. I enjoyed his performance, paying more attention to the character he created than the niggles in the script. His delivery brought intensity to the already tightly woven suspense. His chemistry with Monaghan seemed genuine, but then, who wouldn't have great chemistry with such a beautiful actress? Monaghan was a nice complement to Gyllenhaal's lead. Vera Farmiga was also notable as Captain Goodwin, who is Steven's "handler" in the story. Great cast for a unique film.
Source Code is rated PG-13. The film had some intense sequences, violence and strong language. It was all contextual and well executed. The special effects made the violence realistic, but not gory. I might only limit this film to children prone to nightmares. It was rather tame for the most part. The run time is a breezy one hour, 33 minutes.
Source Code is one of many great thrillers from released in the same year. We could use another solid run like that. As a fan of this genre, it is good to know that we are getting some intelligent material alongside the rehashed plots from the past. The story, characters, acting and dialogue were all exceptional. There were some unexplained inconsistencies, but they were minor. 8/10.
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