Source Code (www.the-usher.com)

"You cannot alter this reality while inside the source code"

US military helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) is drafted as a test subject for a scientific process which can project his consciousness into the past (and another person’s body) for a limited time. Suspicious of his handler Captain Goodwin (Farmiga) and the programme’s director (Wright), Stevens repeatedly lives through the last eight minutes of the life of a passenger on a commuter train, which has just been destroyed by a terrorist bomb.

After making a real splash in the Science Fiction in 2009, British director Duncan Jones returns genre and brings us something special again.

It could have been easy to label Duncan Jones as just the son of a music legend getting his chance to play with filmmaking toys but when ‘Moon’ was released in 2009 any connection to his father, David Bowie was quickly forgotten. ‘Moon’ was a character driven piece of Sci-Fi with a story that enthralled, engaged and most importantly for this genre, made you think… “What if this did happen?” Influenced by classic Sci-Fi like ‘Solaris’, ‘Silent Running’, ‘Dark Star’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, ‘Moon’ became one of the best examples of science fiction in the 00s and one that will be destined to be talked about for a very long time. When your first feature makes such an impact critically and has become a cult classic of the genre, the pressure on Duncan Jones to deliver was great but with ‘Source Code’ he has done exactly that.

Science fiction is genre with so many possibilities and gives a filmmaker the chance to mix modern day issues with the fantastical to bring a story to the silver screen that can engage you and, most importantly, make you think. With the success of ‘Inception’, the intelligent movie, one that gives the audience some expectation of been able to follow a complicated and involving plot, filmmakers have been given the chance to engage the audience again, as the did in the 70s. The story of US helicopter pilot Colter Stevens who has to travel in time to save the future is science fiction at its very best and most thoughtful but, as he proved with ‘Moon’, it is the performances from his cast that bring the story to life.

Surrounding himself with talent, Duncan Jones has gathered together a first rate cast. Jeffery Wright and Vera Farminga are perfectly cast as Colter’s contacts in the real world. As Dr. Rutledge, Wright is the mind behind the Source Code programme and is a man driven by the science and stopping the next attack so his technology will be funded. Vera Farminga’s Colleen is the military contact and Colter’s point of contact and it is her who the young pilot confides in and trusts, even when everything is going wrong. Finding someone who you would risk everything for is always difficult in the casting process with many going for looks instead of substance but Michelle Monaghan optimises both. To explain what the Source Code programme is like to endure and having the skill to react to repeating the same eight minutes over and over again, Jones had to cast an actor who had the talent but also could bring in an audience. He found that in Jake Gyllenhaal. While he is no stranger to a blockbuster, Gyllenhaal has made his name in more character driven pieces like ‘Donnie Darko’, ‘Brokeback Mountain’, ‘Brothers’ and ‘Love and Other Drugs’ and the character of Colter Stevens given him the chance to show his range again.

It is the story itself by Ben Ripley that makes ‘Source Code’ standout. Time travel is a well used plot device in Sci-Fi but when you throw in modern issues like a terrorist threat, social profiling and how your actions affect the people around you, you the makings of a classic piece of science fiction. The dilemma that Colter Stevens faces is one that will draw you in and Duncan Jones makes the revisiting of that eight minutes in time a difference experience every time, building towards the riveting conclusion.

‘Source Code’ shows again that Duncan Jones is a director to watch. Genuinely enthralling science fiction is very rare but this is a film that will grab you from the off, draw you in and offer a conclusion that will have you thinking, talking and reveling for many a moment after the credits roll.

Audio Commentary With Jake Gyllenhaal, Director Duncan Jones And Writer Ben Ripley
Cast And Crew Insights
Focal Points
Expert Intel - The Science Behind Source Code
Access Source Code: Trivia Track

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2011