After all, the quicker the ship can traverse the ocean and unload, the quicker it can get back out on the waters with another haul. The film begins with an American cargo ship navigating the Indian Ocean alone, separated from a pack of freighters, risking open waters in pirate territory for the sole reason of economic haste. Instead, the trouble stems from a disturbing ideology that cannot help but infringe on this true-life narrative, one of nationalistic pride. The effect is disorientating yet visceral, and it works here. It would be a mistake to deride Captain Phillips from a functional standpoint Greengrass has proven himself competent with a style worn well through two Bourne films: handheld camera, fast edits, close framing.
So why am I discussing a podcast at the beginning of a review for Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips? Simple, because it helps to demonstrate what this film does wrong. In short, I thought it an excellent and illuminating piece of nonfiction storytelling. Estefanos recounted her story on the station, deliberate and concise, reserving her passion for sympathy. Still, there was a refreshing lack of sanctimony with the telling, no need to wag a finger at the terrible men responsible or to grandstand. The report shed light on the extremes poverty can take, how violence and cruelty can bloom in the unseen corners of the world. The men and women were savaged by impoverished malcontents who took their prisoners at random, hoping that someone would miss one of them enough to pay a ransom (assuming they had the means to do so). The story involved journalist Meron Estefanos stumbling onto a den of hostages all seeking rescue, unable to receive any help save from her. A few months ago I was listening to NPR’s This American Life podcast, and I caught an episode that was devoted entirely to a hostage situation in Egypt’s Sinai desert.
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