Captains Phillips movie Analysis

The film under analysis was released in October 2013. It was directed by Paul Greengrass in collaboration with Song Pictures Company.  It features Backhand Abdi and Tom Hanks as the leading actors. The film is primarily based on a true story concerning the capturing of Captain Richard Phillips, who was the main Captain of Maersk Alabama ship (Phillips et al., 210). The movie was very successful after its release, and it recorder more than 20 million sales in a million dollars within a record of 2 days. This made it to be one of the best selling in our history. Today, the movie is rated 8/10. This film analysis paper aims at analyzing the movie through a look at the plot, the weakness and strengths and the overall film response.

After watching the movie, it is evident that it starts by showing a clear image of the Captain and his companion lamenting about his career that involves long journeys. It is scheduled to sail to Mombasa from Oman. In the proceeding scene, the main director introduces the pirate, Muse, fully armed with an AK-47 gun (Phillips et al., 178).  It is true that the Captain, in one way, seemed to be aware of the dangers surrounding the Gulf locality. Hence, to ensure maximum protection is attained, he locked all the available entrances and any cargo prior to leaving the port. The Captain had earlier received an email notification alerting them about the Somali pirates known for hijacking any ships that pass through that route. After doing the drilling, they would notice a group of armed pirates chasing theme (Phillips et al., 197).  Keenly looking at the drill, they see that they were real pirates. First, they managed to scare them, keeping them far away from them. The following day the boats belonging to the pirates returned to see if their mission would succeed, and to their surprise, they managed to take complete control of the ship. The crew that was in the vessel hided in the engine room and stopped it. They did so by cutting the power supply to remain in total darkness.  The Captain went ahead and tried to outsmart the hijackers by giving them a payout of 30,000 US dollars (Phillips et al., 217).  They refused the payout telling the Captain that they were not beggars. As they were checking through the entire ship to look at the rest of the crew, Muse was hit by one of the crew members. This happened as they needed to trade Muse for the advantage of Phillip. This business was to occur in the lifeboat where the pirates would be allowed to go. Nevertheless, they managed to take the Captain and demanded a ransom (McKnight et al., 197). The United States was assigned the duty to save the Captain through a smooth negotiation, and if it fails, a SEAL team would be deployed to do what it may take to keep him. During that night, Philip tried to escape, but the pirates were able to bring him back. This resulted in gunshots back and forth, and the United States Navy SEAL Team was deployed (Phillips et al., 257).  In the end, Muse was tricked into going with them, and in the last scene, the Captain was with SEAL and Muse locked up.

The director of the movie showed a perfect setting. Through this, it was easier for one to relate and learn what is going on in the entire film without facing any challenges. Making sure that there is good incorporation in the big ship in the movie assists in showing a clear picture to the prepared audience. On the other hand, actors used a fantastic fitting on a section of the pirate, Muse (McKnight et al., 201).  He proceeds and speaks like an actual Somali pirate.  This makes the director intend to show the difficulty of Somalia and the issues Africa faces when it comes to poverty, war, famine and piracy. This movie director is seen to fail when it comes to the issues affecting Africans.  Though he fails, he, in some cases, manages to show how Americans regarded Somalia.  The movie director achieves his objectives through the use of conversation to show various main points. An excellent example of this is seen when the Captain requests Muse how old he is, and he started suggesting that he was either 17 or 16 (McKnight et al., 127). Through this, the audience gets a clear view of how Americans view the conditions of soldiers who are children and are at a high poverty level. This clearly shows the common beliefs of the western states that piracy in Somalia started as a result of a fight coming from fishers over the overfishing and the population those huge ships cause to the sea. Clear one can see that the camera shots are very clear, making the audience have huge confidence and feel much connected to the characters (McKnight et al., 178).  The applied lighting system happens to be too typical and adds a lot of realism to the entire movie. The colors, on the other hand, are very natural and vivid, as well as the incorporation of pale color and blue tone that are applied well to reflect a formal and cold environment.

Additionally, Muse behavior and other pirates in some times proceeds and suggests that they remain characters who are emulating in a yarn of gangsters. The sadistic hotheads are the ones that provide the brawn and that would make Joe more proud and happy. Hanks and Abdi are seen to engage in a more fascinating psychological take and give. Here Muse through exposing his youth proceeds and confesses that his only dream is only to travel to the United States and buy his own car.  Things change once they are surrounded while on the lifeboat, and here, even the Captain is not guaranteed to get out alive (Phillips et al., 247).  This makes the movie one of the emotionally and draining climaxes that have ever happened within the year.

Overall, the film comprises of a great reception across the globe. It is sold well in most parts of the world, with more sales being done across the United States. Through the use of Tom Hank, as the main person in the selling point is very vital when it comes to increasing the number of sales made. In this case, the conflict point was happening between the Captain and Muse, the villain. Though, unlike in other well known movies, where heroes like the captain win, in this case, the heroes at the end turn up to be the members of the navy team who rescues the Captain from the pirates. Summing up, the film remains a powerful thriller in which the director applies different setting, props, narratives and lighting to show a clear and realistic image of the capturing of Maersk Alabama. The movie narrative and mostly the dialogues show clearly how the United States views Somalia in different perspective. Any person watching this film would recommend a lot of people to watch and learn what it contained in it.

Works Cited

Film review. An analysis of the cinematography of Captain Phillips, Paul Greengrass. “Film Review. An Analysis of the Cinematography of Captain Phillips, By Paul Greengrass”.

McKnight, Terry, and Michael Hirsh. Pirate Alley: Commanding Task Force 151 Off Somalia. , 2017. Print.

Phillips, Richard, and Stephan Talty. A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea. New York: Hyperion ebook, 2010. Print.

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