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The second foray behind the camera is a crucial point in any director’s career; it’s the chance to prove you’re not just a one-hit wonder. Duncan Jones’s second film Source Code, follow up to the excellent Moon, makes the leap to big budget and big studio, and the director has hit the ground running. Source Code is a thought-provoking and entertaining film that is part Inception and Groundhog Day, with a dash of The Matrix put in for good measure. But don’t let such comparisons fool you: Source Code is a skilfully executed, original sci-fi conspiracy thriller that incorporates the ideas of alternative realities and parallel universes.
Source Code begins on a commuter train heading for Chicago. As the train hurtles along the tracks, a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up and looks around with utter confusion. Clearly he has no idea how he got here. A beautiful woman, Christina (Michelle Monaghan), begins talking to him; “I took your advice. It was good advice.” Immediately, several questions have been raised. Who is this woman? What advice did this man give her? It’s onscreen amnesia at its best, skilfully handled to engage the audience straight away. The man claims he is US Army Captain Colter Stevens, a helicopter pilot serving in Afghanistan. However, he soon finds I.D. in his pocket for Sean Fentress, a teacher. Rushing to the bathroom, he finds his reflection is not his own. Before any questions can be answered, the train blows up, killing everyone on board.
Captain Stevens then awakens in some kind of container. US air-force officer Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) greets him via a screen: “Welcome back, Captain Stevens.” At this point, the film’s main premise is quickly introduced – Captain Stevens is inside the “source code”, a computer program developed by arrogant scientist Dr Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright). Apparently, when wired up correctly, someone with similar brain synapses to a recently deceased person can relive the last eight minutes of that individual’s life, as many times as desired. Taking a leaf from the book of The Matrix, Captain Stevens 'jacks' into this program, re-living the last eight minutes of the life of Sean Fentress – a passenger on a Chicago bound train, killed in a terrorist attack that morning. Stevens must relive the event again and again until he identifies the bomber in order to prevent a suspected further attack later that day.
It’s a far-fetched premise, but under Jones’s philosophical direction it never gets lost in itself. At its core, Source Code raises similar issues to Moon; those of identity and memory. How do we know what is real? Added to these in Source Code are the issues of time and existence in parallel universes. You know, simple stuff. Jones’s structure makes sure the sci-fi elements never overwhelm the story; drama, emotion, humour and character development share the screen with the explosive action in a near perfect balance. Alternative existences and events are not merely played out to incorporate more action, but rather to explore the ideas of reshaping the past and making the most of life’s opportunities. What would you do if you had a minute left to live?
Despite such complex themes, the film stays firmly on track. Each eight minute existence on the train brings new and exciting developments and interactions. The film is excellent in its portrayal of the relationship between Fentress and Christina, showing us just what can happen if people truly engage with their feelings and act upon them. Coupled with this is the budding friendship between Captain Stevens and Captain Goodwin, and the humanity behind such complex scientific ideas.
One could argue that the film loses its way ever so slightly at the end, but it’s a small criticism for a film that excels in so many other ways. Perfectly paced and emotionally engaging from start to finish, Source Code is a non-stop Cartesian thrill-ride for the mind.
Hi Jamie,
please please please don't take this as a criticism of the review (which is excellent), I'm just interested... But you write a lot about the direction of Duncan Jones, but nothing really about the performance of Jake Gyllenhaal. I thought the appeal of 'Moon' was as much Jones' direction as an unbelievably good performance by Sam Rockwell, and it sounds like the protagonist in this plays (almost) as key a role. I was wondering how you think this film ranks with Gyllenhaal's performances in say Brokeback Mountain or Donnie Darko?
I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was great in the film, he certainly brought emotional depth to the character. That said, I still probably prefer his performances in the two films you mentioned, but then again those roles enabled him to explore and develop the characters more. It's hard to judge really, Source Code moves at a fast pace, so I think it does really well to explore the characters to such an extent. It's only 90 mins, so to compare it to Brokeback Mountain which is 2 1/2 hours seems unfair haha. Similarly, I think the nature of Moon meant Sam Rockwell could explore his character to a greater extent, seeing as it was basically only him on screen (and in a role specifically written for him). That said, I definitely think Source Code would have suffered if Gyllenhaal wasn't cast. Amongst the (many) train explosions, I definitely believed in the character.
Thanks for pointing out my omittance of his performance btw, I definitely got caught up talking about Duncan Jones haha 
comment deleted by the author Thanks for the quick reply! I agree Rockwell was in a pretty unique position in terms of being pretty much the only (human) character! Overall, how do you think the film compares to 'Moon'? Which do you prefer?
Personally I prefer Moon, but that's mostly because I think it's an amazing homage, in some way or another, to nearly every great sci-fi of the past few decades. Source Code is still really interesting in different ways, and the jump to big budget for Jones couldn't have gone much better, but I think Moon will still generally be thought of as the better film in the end.
I thought it was Jake Gylenhaal's best movie since Donnie Darko personally
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