Upon hearing about this movie (around the same time as “The Adjustment Bureau”), I was intrigued. Movies that play with the mind have a strange allure that is evident from the moment I hear of them. This film took the mind games a step further by utilizing memories as a way to create alternate universes in which crime solving could be done. Think of this movie as a new take on “Minority Report” that still manages to keep some humor and the idea of a fickle existence alive.
The story centers around Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), who awakens on a train with no idea how he got there. Sitting in front of him is a woman he doesn’t recognize whom apparently knows him, Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). After attempting to find out what is going on, there is a sudden explosion on the train as it is nearing Chicago, and the Captain, along with everyone on board, is obliterated. He wakes up strapped to what appears to be a pilot’s chair in a chamber, where he is greeted through a computer by Captain Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). It is revealed that Stevens is inside a program called the Source Code, which allows him to take advantage of the 8 minutes of memory left behind on a deceased person’s mind by taking over their body for that time. In essence, an alternative reality is created that he can examine—a parallel universe, in a sense. That morning, a train bomb had detonated and killed everyone onboard. His mission is to return to the fake past, find the bomb, and discover who the bomber was in an effort to stop a suspected dirty bomb detonation in downtown Chicago by the same person. What follows is an examination of reality, human connection, and everyone’s ultimate fate.
I’m glad I got to see this movie. It’s filming is nothing special, but the way it handles itself and examines the different ventures into the Source Code is incredibly entertaining and well thought out. The feelings of sadness, confusion, futility, and eventual responsibility for the lives in this alternate reality are ingrained into every frame. You know as much as Stevens knows throughout the film, and you find out what is going on at the same time he does. The style begins in media res (in the middle of the action), and that lends to the mystery of the activity. This movie is only slightly like watching paint dry…but only if you were trying to use the Source Code to fix mistakes that had already been made.
By Kulguy
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