The two thoughts swirling through my head at the immediate end of the picture:
1. Jesus Mary and Joseph, Tom Hanks acts his BALLS off in the last 10 minutes of the film. He’s good throughout, down to the subtle hint of accent, not too much, just enough. But that last 10 minutes … it’s the best work he has ever done.
2. American Military, Fuck Yeah!
Regarding Hanks, I totally agree. In the theater, by myself, I wanted to look away from the screen for no other reason than to give his character some privacy. So powerful.
Rob – I felt the same way. Unbelievable portrayal of trauma and shock – so so good.
And – the actress playing the nurse/EMT helped so much with that scene. Great scene partner. I have no idea who she is.
I was wondering if she was an actual EMT. I loved all the stuff the Navy people did as they brought him aboard, how they’d keep passing him along down the line explaining what this person was going to help him with or take him to.
Yeah, I don’t think she’s an actress. She was so perfect, so matter-of-fact. Used to dealing with trauma.
I *just* saw CAPTAIN PHILLIPS and point #1 was exactly my takeaway. I think that Hanks in shock in the sick bay is the best work he has ever done and probably the best 5 minutes or so of acting I will see all year.
Yup. Blown away. Hats off, Hanks.
It’s funny because the various HBOs have been showing VOLUNTEERS a lot lately, and I was thinking about how I miss funny, light comedy Tom Hanks. Then seeing this today and what he does in those last few minutes of the film. Just blown away.
I’ve always preferred comedic Tom Hanks to serious Tom Hanks. I’m a fan from Bosom Buddies days. I like to see how his career has developed. He was just nominated for a Tony, too. I think we are in for an interesting time with him now. I mainly disliked all of the films he made during his big Oscar-winning run. It wasn’t him I disliked so much – but the films. He’s always good. But the films were straining for profundity and importance.
and seeing all those tattooed Navy SEALS leaping out of planes and plummeting toward the ocean … I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
I agree mainly – Hanks was always doing good work, but I couldn’t always dig the films. Plus he was a terrific comic actor who could deliver a zinger with the best of them. I would love to see him in something funny again. Not gentle “Larry Crowne” funny, but fast, slightly off-color funny like he did so well in the 80s.
I think he has accepted his “leading man” status and the fact that he would do Captain Phillips shows that he really understands his own strengths. I’d love to see him in a Woody Allen ensemble – he doesn’t done that yet, has he?
The last scene was done with all regular crew members – Hanks the only actor:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=109889
and this hit the spot. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/navy-seals-pirates/all/
Yes! The EMT enables the scene with Hanks the way Nicholson enables that scene with Rourke in the Pledge.
Better even yet – she’s not an actress. She’s just doing her regular job in a fictional context. Great choice.
Finally caught up with this on cable and loved it. Hanks is amazing of course, as usual, there is no better “everyman” actor, and he crushed it at the end.
But you and others also noted the performance of the actress in the last scene of the movie. Not only was she an untrained actress playing herself, she did not even know she would be filming a scene in the movie until right beforehand! That is amazing to me.
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/10/change-puts-navy-woman-facetoface-tom-hanks
I have mixed feelings about Greengrass. I feel he institutionalized the “shaky-cam” in Hollywood, to everyone’s detriment. It’s not really his fault, it’s just that directors less talented than him have made it the norm. And I think he overdoes it himself in some of his movies. I don’t usually like the asthetic.
But in both this film and United 93 he is really onto something unique with his use of non-actors playing themselves in these “docudramas”. Much of the cast of United 93 were actual airline and military personel, playing themselves, acting as they had on 9/11. It is impossible to tell where the “actors” end and the “real people” begin. Same with Captain Philips. This lends an incredible amount of realism and voracity to these films. For example, I was impressed with the no-nonsense professionalism of his first mate ” Shane”, and thought that might be an actual shipping employee. But no, he’s a professional actor. But everything blends together seamlessly in these films in a way that makes you feel like the events onscreen are actually happening right in front of you.
I think he should stick to these retelling of true-life stories, he has a gift for it.
// Not only was she an untrained actress playing herself, she did not even know she would be filming a scene in the movie until right beforehand! That is amazing to me. //
I know. Incredible.
The fact that that scene was shot with no preparation … it makes what Hanks was doing that much more remarkable.
It is one of the best portrayals of “shock” I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a LOT.
Sorry I really didn’t have much to say about the movie itself. You are far more articulate about it than I was. :)