Source Code - Jake Gyllenhaal and the Philosopher's Zone

I AM I SAID
Review by Tony Freitas

Much like Duncan Jones' freshman effort, the under-seen Moon, Source Code deals with themes of identity, reality, death and the amorphous nature of time. And like Moon there's an undercurrent of melancholia that is atypical of the action genre. But if you think this cinematic mournfulness has no place in an action movie, you're mistaken.


Source Code maintains a quick pulse throughout and what should have been a bomb-on-a-train early spring throw-away gains depth and heart as a result.


Jake Gyllenhaal is military helicopter pilot Colter Stevens(porno name anyone?). Stevens fades in like a movie wipe and finds himself on a Chicago bound commuter train with no idea how he got there, no idea why the woman sitting across from him seems to know him, and not a clue as to why she refers to him as Sean. The last thing he recalls is leading an Afghani air operation. Moments later a hidden bomb detonates on the train consuming everyone onboard.

Fade to white then fade in again; Stevens is still in one piece, in an unknown location inside what appears to be for all intents and purposes a military industrial complex time machine. On a moniter he sees the face of Captain Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) who tells him that he is inside the source code. Wham bam, say Groundhog's Day three times and Colten is back on the train at the same moment he faded in at film's open. An explosive device is onboard the train and Colter has been tasked to find the bomb...  not to dismantle it, not to stop the eminent explosion from happening again, but to track down the terrorist responsible and prevent the next greater anticipated terrorist event. The train explosion is already a done deal, the passengers but a "ghost memory". So begins Colter's 8 minute investigation before the bomb explodes again, only to be sent back to gather more intel time after time, the same 8 minutes. 

Source Code while occasionally exciting is at it's best in its quiet moments. As more is discovered about Colter Stevens' life and military service, as his superficial relationship with train mate Christina deepens in 8 minute increments, layer upon layer is reveled and Source Code unspools like a whodunit. An emotional bond is forged between Colter and the two women in his life - potential love interest Christina and morally conflicted mommy figure Goodwin - and between the characters and the audience. Colter's given task: to stop the terrorist before he strikes again, conflicts with his personal mission to save the souls on this train who are already dead. And that schism is what keeps the film going. And because we are invested in these folks we want it to somehow all work out. 


Gyllenhaal's soulful puppy dog eyes and telling face create a sympathetic everyman who's easy to pull for. And if the film becomes convoluted as it often does, we're always pulled back by the emotional grounding and the philosophical questions posed as Colter's journey becomes less about the bomb and more about what what constitutes reality and self. 

When I first read about Duncan Jones taking the helm of a studio film after the efficient and moody Moon, I was hopeful he could bring his unique off-center angle to Source Code. And then the trailers began to play endlessly, and the film seemed like another mindless sci-fi romp, with little weight and overblown acoustics. So it's unexpectedly gratifying that a little indie spirit, a ghost memory if you will, remains amidst all the annihilation and mayhem.