For a film that wrings such expertly orchestrated tension from real life events, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS turns out to be surprisingly unmemorable. In adapting the widely publicised hijacking of an American container ship in 2009 by Somali pirates, Paul Greengrass proves once again that he can do suspense standing on his head, with one hand tied behind his back. But his familiar documentary-style approach fails to add any sort of depth to the characters in this story. The games of cat and mouse between the US crew and the Somali pirates are absorbing, even exciting; but the characters remain frustratingly one dimensional. Only Tom Hanks, in his reliable everyman mode, provides an emotional point of connection.

A predictably mundane opening in the home of Phillips (Hanks) sets the scene. In the humdrum routine of preparing for his next voyage, Greengrass eases us in to Phillips’ forthcoming ordeal by establishing his fastidious nature and quiet domestic life (the banal conversation between him and his wife before jetting off seems almost too dreary to be real). Once aboard the vessel he becomes the dutiful office manager: checking and re-checking procedures and safety routines until, during a random anti-piracy exercise, wouldn’t you know it? The pirates turn up. What rotters.

From this point on, Greengrass slowly builds up the tension. Prior to the pirates’ commandeering of the ship, the director paints (with a very broad brush) the domestic strife that led to the Somali crew being forced into the piracy game: brutal warlords annexing villages, and forcing the locals to pay tribute by raiding traffic in the Indian Ocean. This creates a measure of sympathy towards them which at least defuses any argument about a one-sided portrayal of events. The crew of four Somalis who manage to subjugate the ship, led by the quiet but resourceful Muse (newcomer Barkhad Abdi), are fearless and determined, and aren’t above spraying bullets around their targets. Their treatment of Phillips during the latter stages of the crisis suggests a desperation that makes abundantly clear how much his life is in real danger.

the script is so focussed on who did what and when that there’s no room for empathy

Yet when the hopelessness of their endeavour becomes apparent, due to the sheer logistics of their prize and its American allegiance, the hunter becomes the hunted. The American military arrive on the scene, and thereafter Muse and company are the underdogs of the tale: struggling to get their captive back to the African mainland in the face of overwhelming firepower. Hanks is forced to take a backseat as Greengrass takes a leaf out of Michael Bay’s book by showing the US military machine grinding in to action, complete with blank-faced men barking orders against an adrenaline pumping soundtrack. The arm-gripping suspense is orchestrated with cool efficiency.

It’s here, however, the film begins to lose its way: the script is so focussed on who did what and when, that there’s no room for empathy. Though the plight of both Phillips and the pirates holds our attention, the characters are frustratingly underwritten. Adapting real-life events is no excuse not to make living, breathing characters. It falls to Hanks and his dependably likable persona to emotionally anchor the film, making Phillips someone to root for in spite of his blandness. As a result, the response to the climax is (leaving aside the release of tension) an oddly empty one. The absence of relief or joy may be a deliberate choice, but its an unsatisfying one too. A little more shading would have gone a long way to making the story linger in the memory.

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