Source Code (2011) * * *

 

Directed by:  Duncan Jones

Starring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden, Cas Anvar

Source Code is a high-concept thriller with poignant moments that make it special.  The plot:  Helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) serving in Afghanistan finds himself as part of a top-secret government program.  He finds himself on a Chicago commuter train assuming the identity of a passenger eight minutes before a bomb on the train explodes and kills everyone aboard.  The "Source Code" program, the brainchild of cold scientist Dr. Rutledge (Wright), assigns Colter the task of finding the identity of the bomber.  Each time the train blows up, Colter is sent back in again for another eight minutes, and this could happen for eternity, I guess.  

Colter thinks he is still in Afghanistan and has no idea why Captain Goodwin (Farmiga) is giving him orders to continue to try and locate the bomber.   It seems the bomber has a larger target in mind and discovering his identity may prevent the next bombing.  Source Code is kind of, sort time travel, but Dr. Rutledge warns it is not meant to prevent the past, but to save the future.  Naturally, if Colter is able to eventually locate the bomb and bomber and prevent the train from exploding and its passengers perishing, then...  my brain might explode trying to figure out the plot's complications and its twists.     

At Source Code's heart is the Gyllenhaal performance, in which a soldier finds himself as part of a program he didn't sign up for and has as many questions as we do.   What exactly happened to Colter Stevens?  When Colter is aboard the train, he is able to utilize a fellow passenger (Monaghan) to look him up on the Internet and discover his whereabouts.  The results may shock you, or perhaps not.  Monaghan plays Christina Warren, a passenger who seems to like Colter (or Sean as she knows him), and in a different time and place would strike up a romance.   But Colter needs to try and prevent the attack, which is something Dr. Rutledge forbids.  Captain Goodwin (Farmiga) is the one giving the orders to Colter via a monitor in what appears to be a helicopter cabin.  She is somewhat sympathetic to Colter, who is demanding answers for good reason.

When we learn Colter's fate, there is a moving scene in which he speaks to his father via telephone and the mystery itself is revealed in layers, with each trip back for Colter leading to more clues and more answers, only to have the questions changed on him.   Director and co-writer Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) creates a story we care about with a hero who has to think his way out of an impossible scenario in which a solution appears out of reach.   It's a time travel (or time-bending) whodunit and those are two of my favorite genres.