For a short period of time in the early 2000s, pirate attacks out of Somalia were all over the news. And then they weren’t. Something changed, and we were no longer hearing much about them. It happened so quickly that it didn’t even register with me that it had happened until looking back on that time period and remembering that there once was a time when this was much more commonplace. The reason, of course, was that shipping companies had gotten wise and were utilizing trained security to deal with these pirates, making the once easy targets now a lot more difficult to hijack. Where once a small group of men with automatic weapons could take control of an unarmed shipping vessel and hold it for ransom, now they were facing armed guards trained to kill. That kind of opposition will put a serious damper on your operation very quickly.
One of the most talked-about and reported incidences of piracy in recent years was that of MV Maersk Alabama, a USA-owned cargo ship sailing from the Port of Salalah in Oman through the Guardafui Channel to Mombasa, Kenya. This takes it through international waters near Somalia where pirate attacks have been on the uprise. The subsequent days would become the basis for a book written by Captain Richard Phillips, A Captain’s Duty, and three years later a film titled simply Captain Phillips. While Richard Phillips praised the film for its accuracy in depicting the events he experienced, several in his crew disputed this accuracy and sued him for disregarding safety measures and steering the cargo ship too close to Somali waters in an attempt to be faster and save money. This lawsuit was settled before going to trial. While it was true that sailing further out from Somalia didn’t guarantee safety, most pirate attacks happened within 200 nautical miles of the Somali shoreline, roughly within the range of where Phillips was sailing the Alabama. His response to the complaints and the lawsuit didn’t satisfy those who felt he intentionally risked their safety to save a few dollars.
The film doesn’t delve into this little detail. In fact, the film paints Captain Phillips as a hero, stepping up to protect his men and voluntarily risking his own life for their safety. Perhaps this aspect of the portrayal is the real reason so many of his crew stepped forward and complained in the first place. Without having been there, it becomes a case of hearsay, more perspective than cold, hard fact. No matter whose side you are on, the film Captain Phillips should be looked at from the perspective of a film, rather than a documentary. It’s based on real events but is not a historical document, merely entertainment. It should spur people to research the real events rather than form the basis of their knowledge of the events.
The film opens with Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) taking command of MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed shipping vessel set to depart from Oman. We get brief moments with him saying goodbye to his wife before arriving at the port and setting foot on the bridge of his ship. We also get a sense that this is hardly his first time here working with his bridge crew, but many of the other crew are new and unfamiliar with the dangers traveling these waters can bring. This becomes a moment of tension amongst the lower ranks when the realities of the dangers begins to settle in. Phillips receives word of possible pirate traffic en route and orders a series of drills to prepare the men for a possible encounter. When two skiffs carrying Somali pirates approach, he pushes the engines to keep them at a distance and radios for help, knowing that the pirates will be listening in on the radio frequency. This initially works as the increased speed and the broadcast causes one skiff to turn around and the other to suffer from engine failure.
The next day, however, sees one of the skiffs return, this time with a second engine and led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi). With twice the engine power now, Muse is able to catch up with the Alabama, avoid the fire hoses meant to sink their skiff, and attach a ladder to the side for boarding. Phillips orders his men to hide out in the engine room while he is captured by Muse and his three men. Utilizing his knowledge of the ship, he delays them, hoping they will accept the $30,000 in the ship’s safe and leave. But they want to hold the ship hostage for millions. Through some booby-traps and the efforts of the crew, Muse is captured and an attempt is made to trade him for Phillips and get the pirates off the ship. Instead, the pirates leave on one of the lifeboats with Phillips as a hostage, and they set out for Somalia with the intention of ransoming the captain for a lot of cash. In the meantime, the US military has gotten involved and has sent out ships and Navy Seals in an attempt to rescue Phillips and capture or kill the pirates.
As an action/drama, Captain Phillips is above average. There is very little on screen that comes across as taught or tense. This is further exacerbated by the foreknowledge that this is based on true events, removing any doubts over the fates of the leads, especially Captain Phillips himself. When he is facing down the barrel of a machine gun, there is never any rear fear for his life. By casting Tom Hanks in this role, that brings additional baggage and expectations. We instinctually trust him because Tom Hanks is playing the part. This kind of pre-disposed casting was even called out in The Simpsons Movie when Tom Hanks was brought into the story as the face Americans could trust. It’s also what made his casting in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis so off-putting and poorly received.
Offsetting Tom Hanks’ casting is that of newcomer Barkhad Abdi. Abdi was a newcomer to acting, having worked various jobs for his family ever since they immigrated to America during the Somali civil war. He and three others were selected out of more than 700 applicants at a casting call in Minneapolis, where there is a relatively small community of Somali immigrants. This casting was heralded as brilliant and skyrocketed him into the public consciousness. It also led to recognition from many of the big awards ceremonies, including at the BAFTAs, SAG, The Golden Globes, and The Academy Awards. As this was his first film, he wasn’t paid a huge salary, but it has led to him getting other roles in Hollywood in the years since.
While there is no doubt Abdi has acting talent, a big part of his success in this role is his physical appearance. He is thin but tough-looking, like he really is coming straight from a war-torn country where food and basic comforts are scarce. This is not just a good makeup effect, either. Seeing him walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards that season, it was obvious that this is who he is. It gives him a unique look that helps him stand out in a crowd and serves well in making him appear menacing and more than a bit dangerous, especially with a weapon in his hands. We get the desperation in his eyes, too. He answers to someone higher who is demanding a big payday, and he fears failure because of that. We never hear specifically what the price of failure means for him, but we don’t need to; his desperation tells us all of that. It drives him to make rash choices even in the face of overwhelming odds.
If you are unfamiliar with how this story played out, then this ending is likely to shock you. It is by far the most violent moment in the entire picture. This is the one place in the film where Tom Hanks really elevates the role and sells the shock his character is going through. This goes beyond the moment in time and carries on well past his rescue. Tom Hanks is never exactly on cruise control in this, but for a good deal of the film, he is not given much to work with. That changes after he has been taken hostage on the lifeboat and then later when he is finally rescued.
While this is not a taught thriller, it does have its moments of tension bolstered by Abdi’s powerful and convincing performance. It gives you the basics of what went down when Somali pirates attempted to hijack the Alabama in 2009 but skates over the more controversial aspects of the events. By 2013, these kinds of attacks were on the downward slope as security was being beefed up to combat such attacks, and the film served as a reminder of the recent history as well as humanizing the attackers by showing us a bit of the desperate situation they were in. It’s well made, competently directed, and entertaining, too. It’s no substitute for the real history, but then again, what movie is?
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi
Best Adapted Screenplay: Billy Ray
Best Film Editing: Christopher Rouse
Best Sound Editing: Oliver Tarney
Best Sound Mixing: Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, and Chris Munro
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Release Date: October 11, 2013
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi
Directed By: Paul Greengrass
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