Captain Phillips (2013)

"You don't understand.  There is no scenario where you win." (Capt. Phillips)

I liked Captain Phillips.  It was well written and superbly acted. Unfortunately, I hated the cinematography and editing.  I appreciate that the use of handheld camera and non-centric camera angles pushes up the intensity of action, by allowing for whrring motions and chaotic jumbling, in addition to encouraging the audience to embrace claustrophobia, but I consider Captain Phillips and egregious overuse of the tactic.  If I were to talk to the director (Paul Greengrass), I feel like he might tell me about how difficult it would have been to shoot steady cam inside of a small lifeboat with 4-5 cramped actors. (Fair, handheld may have been prudent. I still don't like it.) I wish the drama had been slightly more staged for cinematic quality than realism.

I want to take a moment to talk about a cultural point that seemed to pervade, Captain Phillips.  Masculinity and Machismo.  Very few films really go into the details necessary to breakdown the thought processes and motivations of villains besides that they are rotten from heart to head. Capt. Phillips presents a more ambitious and ambiguous interpretation of our kidnappers motivations. Our Somali pirates are shown to be in pursuit of respect by any means necessary to be taken seriously. For the entirely male Somali cast, the characters have no rules, but self interest and the establishment of dominance. Intimidation is par for the course. Death is a fact. Respect is to be taken.  Under those circumstances and in the face of the incomprehensibly superior US navy, there was no hope for them, but the alternative was to accept their inferiority and total lack of power.

On a scale of ants to boots, I give Captain Phillips, 3.6 out of 5 stars.