Director Paul Greengrass specializes in suspense with real-world ramifications and meaning.  Sometimes his subjects are more action-oriented and symbolic in nature (the Jason Bourne films or Green Zone) while others are more historical and fact-based (Bloody Sunday, United 93 and this movie).  Captain Phillips dramatizes an infamous Somali pirate incident during which the title character of a cargo ship was taken hostage before being rescued by U.S. special forces.

Tom Hanks stars as mild-mannered Captain Richard Phillips, who uses his wits to keep his crew safely hidden when the pirates attack, and who never panics when taken hostage for days in a tiny, confined lifeboat heading back to Somalia.  Hanks is very empathetic in the role while never fishing for sympathy.  It’s a nice performance yet I wonder if the movie would have profited from a less famous name in the lead, because Hanks’ presence almost assures the audience (and specifically those who do not remember the true story) that his character will survive.

Greengrass takes the time to develop his Somali characters, balancing the dramatic equation by depicting their poverty and desperation.  The pirates are not shown sympathetically, per se, but Greengrass wants to ensure that we see how and why they are endeavoring their piracy, and that the situation is not just black and white; or black vs. white.  This is a “you are there” movie, shot with hand-held cameras with all the intimacy that can be provided by that technique.

Captain Phillips is very well made, harrowing and yet thrilling, immersive and very intimate and yet detached enough to present the big picture.  It’s a tribute not just to the estimable Captain, but to everyone who helped bring him back from what could have been a long imprisonment or death for doing nothing other than captaining a cargo ship in the wrong place at the wrong time.  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  8 November 2013.