Source Code (2011)

Director: Duncan Jones

Story: Ben Ripley

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan

Music: Chris P. Bacon

Time: 93 minutes

Bottom-line: Interesting concept… story not that impressive

This French-English science fiction thriller boasts of an interesting concept: something that combines themes of Groundhog Day, Inception, Avatar… Source Code features Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan and Jeffrey Wright. To reveal the plot might give away hints/spoilers so if you want to explore the film on your own, skip the next paragraph.

Monaghan as Christina and Gyllenhaal as Sean/Stevens

7:40 AM: Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) is travelling in a commuter train to Chicago. To his travel partner, Christina (Monaghan) and when he looks at himself in the mirror, he appears to be Sean Fentress, a school teacher. 8 minutes later, a bomb kills everyone on board. The scene shifts to a dinghy room where we see Stevens communicates through a video screen to Captain Goodwin (Farmiga), who confirms his identity. She asks him to stay on the mission to root out the bomber who has planned to strike again in the city in a few hours. We learn that Sean is actually transported to an alternate timeline through the “Source Code” program, which allows him to experience 8 minutes of another compatible person’s life. The film talks about how Stevens tries repeatedly to catch the bomber, and the experiences he has each time.

Farmiga as Goodwin

 Gyllenhaal’s character is pretty much like Phil in Groundhog Day – he lives the same 8 minutes over and over again till he completes his mission. He remembers his previous attempts but no one around him does. The story seems a bit boring because unlike Groundhog Day, here we get to see only the same 8 minutes repeatedly, so the whole “beauty” of having that experience of reliving the time is not shown; what we do see is a tense man trying to diffuse the bomb, which I felt boring. There is barely any character development. The whole concept of source code isn’t explained that clearly either.

Gyllenhaal does well in the lead role, but I felt the story hampered his chance of showcasing his acting. He does (more or less) the same thing in the alternate timeline, and what makes his role interesting is the transition between the characters of Sean and Stevens. he subtly modifies his expressions and actions because he, unlike other passengers, knows what’s going to happen. Michelle Monaghan plays the travel partner of Sean, and does well, nothing – says the same stuff, same confused expressions… after all, her character is reliving the same time again, freshly. Vera Farmiga also has a simple role to play – just communicate to Stevens and tell him what to do, that’s it. Source Code cannot boast of its acting either.

The effects, sound and Gyllenhaal’s acting are the strong points of this sci-fi thriller. The concept I feel could have been developed further...maybe a full story could have been created instead of just this one train incident. To see Sean/Stevens slowly make progress to finally stop the bomber is something I felt boring and monotonous, but if the subtle differences in each attempt interest you then you might enjoy the movie.

My Rating: 2.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%