Duncan Jones's follow-up to his wonderful directorial debut Moon is pulled off with a tautness that belies its extreme silliness. Military helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is trapped in a mission his politely authoritative handler Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) and her sinister boss Dr Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright, channelling James Earl Jones) refuse to explain. A software program named the Source Code repeatedly inserts Stevens into someone else's body for the final eight minutes aboard a bombed Chicago commuter train. He must discover who blew up everyone on board - including the lovely Christina (Michelle Monaghan).
Source Code is an elegant mix of psychodrama and action thriller that's so meta you wonder if Jones deliberately wants to provoke audience déjà vu. Its treatment of virtual worlds and parallel realities evokes the paranoia of The Matrix and Dark City, the romantic sentimentality of Run Lola Run and Sliding Doors, and even a grown-up Donnie Darko. Its relentless procedural repetition brings to mind Groundhog Day, and its implacable manipulation of an existentially confused protagonist echoes 12 Monkeys. Jones can't even resist the in-joke of casting Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula as Stevens's father. Source Code is smart and satisfying, but light on surprises.
What:
Source Code
Where:
In cinemas from May 5
Watch the trailer:
Here
Win:
Thanks to Hopscotch, we have 5 dbls to give away! To enter, email to
brisbane.win@rightanglestudio.com.au with the subject ‘Everything is gonna be okay'
Australian Competitions Club
