Source Code (US 2011) made by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones (Zowie Bowie), and starring Jake Gyllenhaal with the very beautiful Michelle Monaghan. An army pilot wakes up to find himself in another man's body aboard a train destined for destruction. Scientists continue to send him back every eight minutes or so to uncover the person behind the plot. Gyllenhaal's character quickly learns the truth behind the events on the train, how the scientists manage to keep sending him back and ultimately his destiny. I expected this sci-fi film to be tedious or predictable, but it was the opposite and a strong action film. Duncan Jones has clearly inherited his father's creative gene and unpredictable nature (but none of his mother's weirdness). I have to say I expected Gylenhaal to be bland/banal, but he gave a convincing performance, as did Vera Farmiga as one of the backroom boffins. An interesting little touch is the way Jones gives Gyllenhaal's character a persistant concern for his father. If you haven't seen this, then I recommend it as a way of quickly passing the time. Journalists thought they were being clever in criticising the science, but Source Code is not intended as a fly on the wall documentary.
All credit to Duncan Jones for avoiding the nepotism of the Bowie name, while demonstrating that he is an intelligent and thoughtful chip off the old block. If I had recorded Source Code, I would be watching it again today, instead of writing this. Annoyingly, I missed Moon when it was on TV at Christmas, but I cannot wait to see it now.
|