Source Code

(some mild spoilers ensue...)

U.S. marine Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of a schoolteacher named Shawn on a Chicago-bound train. Colter is stricken with selective amnesia but soon learns that he has been sent into a source code (time bubble) to gather information about a devastating act of terrorism. As he explores this scenario over and over again he begins to learn some other disturbing truths, all the time racing against the clock to prevent further bombings in Chicago.

Director Duncan Jones previously directed the auteurtastic British sci-fi film Moon. Like Moon, Source Code deals with new states of existence and what constitues a human life. Unlike Moon, this is a much more action-orientated film, letting the metaphysical subtext take a backseat to the highly focused plot. It's sci-fi by way of Hitchcock, a thriller-scenario played out repeatedly while revealing more details each time. Here are nine great things about this film, and one not so great thing:

1. Time travel has always been a dicey concept to incorporate into a narrative as it often leaves the film wide open to plot holes. Source Code gets around this by characterising its form of time travel as being a self-contained bubble, allowing for a whole different ballpark of time travel-related humdiggery. Refreshingly, Source Code also takes the view that things aren't pre-destined; that the same events may happen in a timeline but they won't always be exactly the same. It's like the idea of musicians jamming on a theme - all the key notes of the scenario get hit each time but the journey through them is always different.

2. Duncan Jones does this weird thing where he uses smash cuts to repeat a sequence a few times. It feels odd as first but it builds the tension to an excruciating level.

3. I thought the ending was fantastic. I understood what had happened even before they showed Colter's reflections in the bubble-like metal sculpture, but it was a great way to end a rather disturbing concept on an optimistic note.

4. There's even a rather straightforward subtext for all the regular (non-geeky) folks watching: seizing the moment! As Colter travels through this timeline over and over again he begins to take stock of what he wants out of life. Well, I say that, but it's probably more a case that he's realised his life has a use-by date and he's desperate for any kind of life he can grab for himself.

5. The nature of the narrative (replaying a race-against-time with slight variations each time) allows for the film to examine the mechanics of terrorism. By using this format we're able to observe how a terrorist attack happens and how little time we really have to prevent these attacks due to their nature. It's an interesting (and subtle) commentary on a difficult subject.

6. By making the terrorist a lone nutter of anglo-saxon appearance the film sidesteps any potential politicising. Some might see the lack of terrorist Muslims as a cop-out, but this creative decision allows for the technology to take centrestage. It's an acknowledgement that the War on Terror is essentially a war on new technologies that allow crazed individuals to kill large quantities of people. In this sense the bomber is more Timothy McVeigh than Al-Qaeda.

7. Jeffrey Wright. This guy is awesome, he always puts in a colourful performance (usually without going too over-the-top). He's a bit of a scene stealer in Source Code though, giving the kind of eccentric performance that he's usually not really known for. What I can say? I'd watch this guy in anything.

8. It took me a while to figure out what was so familiar about this movie but eventually it hit me - it's almost like a video game, with the hero getting to replay the same level over and over again until he gets everything right. I'm not sure if this was a conscious influence... if it was then I take my hat off to Duncan Jones for being able to pull it off in a way that's compelling rather than tedious.

9. Also influencing the mixing pot that fuels this cracking action ride is a range of recent TV shows and films. I'm counting this intertextuality as a good thing because they all contribute to Source Code's success in riffing on genres and narrative styles to create something exciting and stimulating. Through Source Code I got a taste of the TV shows Fringe and Life on Mars, as well as the films Run Lola Run, Groundhog Day and Butterfly Effect.

1. And the one thing that lets Source Code down a bit? Jake Gyllenhaal. I just don't buy him as a serious actor at all. He's far too dopey for this kind of movie (or any serious movie for that matter). I think I would've preferred to see Sam Rockwell have a crack at it.

DIRECTOR: Duncan Jones
WRITER/SOURCE: Ben Ripley
KEY ACTORS: Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan, Jeffrey Wright, Russell Peters, Cas Anvar, Michael Arden, Scott Bakula

RELATED TEXTS
- Duncan Jones' previous film, Moon.
- Groundhog Day, the tragi-comic classic that's very much the non-sci fi father of this film. See also Run Lola Run and Butterfly Effect for similar plot-retreading.
- Colter's plight put me in mind of Sam from the excellent British TV show Life on Mars. I was also reminded specifically of White Tulip, the Season 2 episode of Fringe that features Peter Weller as a time-travelling scientist.
- Other 21st century Hollywood sci-fi 'head trips': Inception, The Adjustment Bureau, The Matrix and The Fountain.