Film review: Source Code

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Source Code is the second film by Duncan Jones, the first being the hypnotic, almost narcotic Moon (2009), a meditation on identity centred on the lonely figure of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), the sole occupant of a remote mining outpost on the far side of the moon. At first Sam thinks the base is haunted, but instead of a ghost he encounters his own self: another Sam Bell with the same traits and memories of Earth. But like all good sci-fi, Moon is not simply the sum of its excellent special effects; though its rendering of a plausible, lived-in future via the most traditional means (models and mattes) is impeccable, Jones's film also has some provocative things to say about the morality of cloning. The nod to Blade Runner is clear, but, unlike Ridley Scott's replicants, Sam Bell is not fighting a guerilla war, he is a humble man coming to terms with who he is – or, indeed, isn't.

Source Code, though it takes a while to reveal itself, is a continuation of some of those same themes, this time with perhaps more of an emphasis on a more general concept of social identity. Its protagonist is yet another loner: Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a former helicopter pilot, a young veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who finds himself on a commuter train with a beautiful stranger (Christina, played by Michelle Monaghan). Through painful experience, Stevens learns that he is part of an operation – enabled by the 'source code' of the title – that allows him to experience the last eight minutes of a schoolteacher who was killed when the car he was riding in was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. Though he has little knowledge of his exact mission or even his whereabouts, Stevens soon learns, via his sympathetic handler, Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), that he must go back – and go back, and go back, and go back – until the bomb is disarmed and its creator identified.

Immediately, the film raises the spectre of several other sci-fi movies, notably 12 Monkeys, Inception and, to a lesser degree, Altered States. And for a good half-hour of its running time, Source Code plays very well at being a superior B-movie created in their image and moving in their shadow. But, without revealing the twist, in the next 15 minutes Jones suddenly takes things up a gear by shining a light on Stevens' backstory. Which is where the film suddenly jumps the rails of orthodoxy and starts to become 'about' something, in the way Moon was and in the way, arguably, for example, Inception wasn't. Stevens, it transpires, has a lot in common with Sam Bell. He's a pawn in an elaborate game, only this time the situation isn't just a matter of human rights but a question of responsibility: if Stevens walks away, a much larger explosion is threatened that will destroy the city of Chicago.

Leaving aside the twist, which may or may not owe a small debt to the paradox of the experiment known as Schrödinger's Cat (Jones was a philosophy student, so don't rule it out), Jones's film, though still contained, works on a much broader canvas than Moon. Although Stevens is told that his actions within the mission have no impact on the 'real' world, he still wrestles with his conscience. Perhaps they might. And even if they don't have any impact, the people on the train seem so real he simply doesn't want to let them down. Where Sam Bell was fighting for his individuality, Stevens is fighting to preserve the individuality of others – the people who, at the push of a button, will become human rubble: victims, a bland statistic on the evening news.

This is where the film works best, and though its internal logic is stretched at times, Source Code keeps clumsy exposition to a minimum and tries instead to concentrate on the physicality of what's at stake. And key to its success is Gyllenhaal, an actor who has been somewhat adrift since his breakout role in 2001's Donnie Darko. A flop as a classic action hero in Prince Of Persia, Gyllenhaal also, but appropriately, seems slightly out of synch here too. Comparisons have been made to Cary Grant in North By Northwest, but Gyllenhaal can't quite affect that kind of gravitas and, again, it works in the film's favour, especially when, in his incarnation as a teacher, he strong-arms the startled passengers around him. Given the conceit of the film, however, Gyllenhaal's role is the only one that has time to accrue depth; Monaghan never gets to do much except look pretty, while, back at the lab where Stevens is held between outings, Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright (her boss) do little more than play good cop/bad cop.

Fans of Moon will find much to enjoy, but they will also notice the signs of what looks suspiciously like studio interference. Where Moon ended smoothly and subtly, Source Code ends in fits and starts, and while the tone points one way, and one way only, the film persists in trying to avoid the grim destination that awaits it. In particular is an ill-fitting scene in which a dewy-eyed Stevens tries to call his dad. Not only does this static, untypically sentimental scene occur at a point when the film really should be putting the pedal down, it seems an awkward and unlikely artistic decision for a director who has so far tried not to draw much attention to his own family life, or rather famous father (rock star David Bowie). Likewise, an enigmatic coda, though fascinating and even darkly funny, is a little too much after the film's competing endings, which try to wrap things up both inside and outside the mission.

Nevertheless, if interference is the case (and it's worth noting that, unlike Moon, Jones did not originate the script), Source Code doesn't suffer greatly. Jones's instincts and ideas are sufficiently entrenched in the DNA of the movie that when scenes ring false, we know why and what the director, not the moneymen, would rather be telling us. After Moon, this is perhaps more Jones 1.5 than the Jones 2.0 that many were expecting, but the film shows both progress and sophistication, and in a crowded mainstream arena where smart genre films often alienate, it's unusually warm and accessible. Hopefully its success will give Jones the clout to return to self-penned scripts and give him more space – no pun intended – for his obvious creativity and intelligence.

* This review is my own personal opinion and does not reflect in any way the opinions of Empire magazine...