Source Code

Duncan Jones gives Christopher Nolan a run for his money with this gripping Groundhog Day-thriller, the follow-up to his brilliant sci-fi debut, Moon.

The opening eight minutes will have you hooked: Jake Gyllenhaal’s disorientated ‘Sean’ wakes up on a commuter train to Chicago opposite a woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan), with no idea who he is or how he got there. He rushes to the toilets, where a stranger’s face stares back at him from the mirror. Then the train explodes...

We soon find out that ‘Sean’ is in fact Colter Stevens, a US helicopter pilot in Afghanistan who has become mysteriously separated from the rest of his unit, and finds himself an unwilling member of a secret government operation known as ‘Source Code’. The scene we witnessed at the start was Stevens looking through the eyes of commuter Sean Fentress in the last 8 minutes of his life, before the train was ripped apart by a terrorist’s bomb; Stevens’ job is to return to these 8 minutes again and again until he identifies the mass murderer. Stevens cannot change the past; nothing he does will stop everyone on board the train perishing - in the present timeline, they are already dead - but he may be able to prevent future loss of life, as the terrorist is believed to be en route to the city with a dirty nuke. There is only one problem, however: each time he enters Sean’s conscious, he falls more in love with Christina, and becomes more determined to save her.

There isn’t really much to say about Source Code except that it is absolutely fantastic, and every bit as affecting and poignant as Jones’ debut. Similar themes to Moon are explored – including identity, mortality and isolation – and Jones once again makes some interesting points about sacrifice and morality.

Monaghan manages to create an authentic and very likeable character from the sparse snippets we learn about Christina, and the supporting cast – the bitter comedian, the angry businessman, the harassed student – are much more than just expendable clichés. But this is Gyllenhaal’s film, and he rises spectacularly to the occasion, bringing real humour and humanity to a character that could otherwise have been just another action hero.

Astute viewers may guess the culprit before Stevens does, but this doesn’t detract from the fun of watching our hero piece together all the clues, whilst at the same time trying to get to the bottom of his own mysterious situation in the real world.

Intelligent, moving and surprisingly funny, Source Code is a fantastic ride from start to finish, and will likely see Jones shake the ‘son of David Bowie’ tag once and for all.

CMD