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If you ever wanted to experience what it would be like to be held hostage by a band of desperate and dangerous high-seas buccaneers as they brandish automatic weapons with careless abandon, then "Captain Phillips" is probably as close as you will ever get, or want to get.

For those whose idea of a pirate is Capt. Jack Sparrow – or Long John Silver,  for  that matter – this real-life account will be a rude awakening as to what constitutes a 21st-century model. British docudrama specialist Paul Greengrass (the "Bourne" sequels, " United 93 ") is at the top of his craft as he employs all his usual tools—nervous handheld cameras, grainy cinematography, a mostly anonymous cast, and a tension-drenched situation—to re-create a 2009 attempt to hijack an American cargo ship.

The action takes off within the first 20 minutes. Lean-and-hungry members of the world’s under-class—a ragtag, brazenly opportunistic band of young Somali men— stage their attack as if pulling off a smash-and-grab at a jewelry store. After that, it's full steam ahead and no turning back.

What unfolds in the next two hours is gripping enough that more than a few theater armrests will probably require upholstery repair.  But as Greengrass has demonstrated in such past films as 2002’s " Bloody Sunday " (about the 1972 shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Northern Ireland) and  2006’s "Flight 93" (which re-enacted the events on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11), he is stronger with the doc part of his cinematic equation than the interaction between characters.

Employing a little-known cast does increase verisimilitude. But, in this case, the filmmaker thankfully reached out to an actor who almost always provides a welcome security blanket for moviegoers.   Tom Hanks is one of those rare movie stars that we willingly follow into almost any unpleasant situation—even in those less-than-great thrillers based on The Da Vinci Code books—knowing that his very presence onscreen will get us through any perils that confront us in the dark. Who else would we want to observe saving a space craft from disaster in " Apollo 13 ," enduring the horrors of D-Day in " Saving Private Ryan " and surviving a plane crash on a deserted island in " Cast Away "?

Still, this is a different Hanks than the affable guy-next-door that we have come to expect. The actor submerges his natural exuberance to assume the role of a terse and weary New England-based merchant mariner who oversees a huge floating warehouse with reserved efficiency. No joking around with the crew or idle chitchat: this is a job. Period. Although the ship’s occupants are shown undergoing an emergency drill,  no trained military are involved until the situation becomes dire enough to require a visit from Navy SEALs.

There is a prologue that shows Richard Phillips—whose memoir served as the basis of the script—preparing for his journey and being driven to the airport by his wife (a cameo by Catherine Keener , who seems to be everyone’s past or current wife in movies these days). Many critics have derided this segment as clunky and forced, but I believe Greengrass wanted to introduce the captain as an average family man, not some gung-ho wannabe hero, so his cool-headed reactions later on would seem all the more remarkable; besides, other than a medical worker who shows up late in the story, Keener is the only woman with any impact onscreen. 

The focus, of course, is on the hijacking. The pirates board the ship with surprising ease, although their efforts put their own boat out of service. As Phillips sends the crew to hide out in the engine room, he assumes the role of a host of sorts, trying to distract his unwanted guests with offers of water and food while showing them around. But the foursome—headed by skeletal Muse (Barkhad Abdi), the brains of the operation—grows impatient. Rash behavior leads to serious injuries and Phillips is eventually taken captive aboard a claustrophobic covered lifeboat, with the pirates demanding a ransom of millions in exchange for his return.

Unfortunately, save for a segment showing how a greedy warlord recruits his army of willing raiders, the pirates are as much vessels of storytelling as the ship itself, though the movie at least gives them some intriguing character touches. The behavior of Muse and other fellow pirates sometimes suggests they are emulating characters in a gangster yarn -- as if they have seen " Goodfellas " or James Cagney films a few too many times. The sadistic hothead who provides the brawn would do Joe Pesci proud. Abdi and Hanks engage in some interesting psychological give and take.  Muse, exposing his youth, confesses that his dream is to go to America and buy a car. 

Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter. Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism, she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes.

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Film credits.

Captain Phillips (2013)

Rated PG-13

134 minutes

Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips

Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips

Max Martini as SEAL Commander

Chris Mulkey as John Cronan

Yul Vazquez as Frank Castellano

Corey Johnson as Ken Quinn

David Warshofsky as Mike Perry

John Magaro as Dan Phillips

Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy

Angus MacInnes as John A White

• Paul Greengrass

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Film Review: ‘Captain Phillips’

Paul Greengrass' kinetic docudrama always impresses without ever connecting emotionally in quite the same way as his previous verite efforts.

By Scott Foundas

Scott Foundas

• Film Review: ‘Black Mass’ 9 years ago
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Four years after it made headlines, the harrowing ordeal of commercial shipping captain Richard Phillips gets the bigscreen treatment care of verite specialist Paul Greengrass in “ Captain Phillips .” The result is a kinetic docudrama that always impresses without ever connecting emotionally in quite the same way as the helmer’s prior “Bloody Sunday” and “United 93,” with which “Phillips” forms a loose trilogy of average Joes and Janes caught in the throes of politically motivated violence. Setting sail with an opening-night berth at the New York Film Festival (where another seafaring epic, “Life of Pi,” launched last year), this impeccably well-made, gripping but grim survival tale should spark a flurry of awards buzz for star Tom Hanks and powerful Somali newcomer Barkhad Abdi, but may prove too grueling to make major waves with Academy voters or the multiplex crowd.

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Working from a script by Billy Ray (“Breach,” “ Shattered Glass”) drawn from Phillips’ own memoir, Greengrass traces the captain’s ill-fated journey on and off the container ship Maersk Alabama, beginning with his April 2009 departure from the port of Oman and ending with his dramatic rescue off the Somali coast after four days in captivity. The only reference to Phillips’ personal life comes in a brief but excellent scene between Hanks and Catherine Keener (playing Mrs. Phillips), rich in its sense of the comfort between two long-married people, their conversation about their children’s future masking a far deeper concern about Phillips’ high-risk profession. Indeed, “Captain Phillips” makes it clear that Phillips was worried from the outset about the possibility of pirate attack — and the Alabama’s lack of security — well before leaving port, which gives the ultimate turn of events a touch of Cassandra-like prophecy.

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The pirates (who also get one too-brief context-establishing scene on the Somalia mainland) first arrive in two small skiffs ill-equipped to challenge the Alabama’s speed, though it’s a clever bit of radio theater concocted by Phillips that ultimately thwarts them. But the crew knows it’s only a matter of time before their unwanted visitors return — which they do, in a sharply executed setpiece that pits the undersized skiff (just one this time, with four occupants) against the Alabama’s pressurized water jets and evasive maneuvers. It’s a scene that wouldn’t look out of place in one of Greengrass’ “Bourne” pics, suggesting how much the director’s immersive, handheld aesthetic has been sharpened by his season in the Hollywood tentpole trade.

Where Greengrass’ earlier true-life tales were principally group studies, his latest is very much a tale of two captains — Phillips on the one hand, and the pirate leader Muse (Abdi) on the other. Though he himself is but a low-ranking functionary in a vast piracy hierarchy, Muse is head honcho on the Alabama, and Abdi (a Somali-born American emigre making his film debut) plays the role with the hungry intensity of an oppressed man taking his turn at being the oppressor. In a movie that affords little dimensionality to its characters, Abdi finds notes to play you scarcely realized were there, until this reedy young man with jutting brow looms as large as Othello.

Hanks is predictably sturdy as the embattled captain (save for a come-and-go Boston accent), playing the kind of Everyman facing extraordinary circumstances he’s played many times. He never quite disappears into the role, in part because there isn’t all that much there to disappear into, and in part because Hanks has a bag of actorly tics and indications that follow him almost everywhere he goes. But he seems confident handling the tools of the nautical trade, and his scenes opposite Abdi bristle with a quiet electricity. Much of the movie’s first half is devoted to Phillips’ stealth efforts to keep the pirates away from his crew (who huddle in hiding down in the engine room ), feigning mechanical failure and offering to send the marauders on their way with $30,000 in cash from an onboard safe (except, they want millions). At every step, Hanks excels at showing what’s really going on in the character’s mind while maintaining his facade of almost folksy calm. It isn’t one of the actor’s rangiest roles, but it culminates in an eruption of emotional fireworks of exactly the sort Oscar dreams are made of.

Like in life, “Captain Phillips” makes a sharp turn at almost the exact midpoint, as the pirates flee the ship in an enclosed lifeboat with Phillips as their hostage. In turn, Greengrass and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (“United 93”) collapse the visual space of the film from the relative expansiveness of the Alabama to a crucible of claustrophobic tension.  As Phillips and the pirates head towards Somalia — and their fated rendezvous with a U.S. Naval destroyer — you can almost smell the sweat and grime hanging in the air of the poorly ventilated 28-foot capsule.

No one in movies today, with the possible exceptions of Kathryn Bigelow and Ken Loach, does you-are-there realism better than Greengrass, further enhanced by the crackerjack editing of longtime collaborator Christopher Rouse (who also earns a co-producer credit here). Yet “Captain Phillips” suffers from a certain vague feeling that we’ve seen this movie before, both in Greengrass’ own filmography and, more explicitly, in the excellent recent import “A Hijacking,” which dramatized a nearly identical case of a Somali pirate attack on a Danish cargo vessel, albeit with even less of a happy ending. There, director Tobias Lindholm built up a fierce emotional tension by inserting scenes of not just the crew’s families back home, but also the mercenary tactics of the shipping company itself, weighing the value of human lives against the corporate bottom line. Here, there is something too dry and austere about Greengrass and Ray’s telescoped vision, which touches only fleetingly on the pirates’ motives, the suffering of the Somali people and the collateral damage of global capitalism.

Reviewed at Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, Calif., Sept. 3, 2013. (In New York Film Festival — opener; London Film Festival — opener.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 133 MIN.

• Production: A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures presentation of a Scott Rudin/Michael De Luca/Trigger Street production. Produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca. Co-producers, Christopher Rouse, Michael Bronner. Executive producers, Gregory Goodman, Eli Bush, Kevin Spacey.
• Crew: Directed by Paul Greengrass. Screenplay, Billy Ray, based on the book “A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. Camera (Deluxe color, 35mm, widescreen), Barry Ackroyd; editor, Christopher Rouse; music, Henry Jackman; music supervisor, Michael Higham; production designer, Paul Kirby; set decorator, Dominic Capon; set designer, Peter Russell; costume designer, Mark Bridges; sound (Datasat/Dolby Digital/SDDS), Chris Munro, Tim Fraser; supervising sound editor, Oliver Tarney; re-recording mixers, Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith; visual effects producer, Dan Barrow; visual effects, Double Negative, Nvizible, Proof; stunt coordinator, Rob inch; assistant director, Chris Carreras; second unit director, Christopher Forster; second unit camera, Niels Reedtz Johansen; casting, Francine Maisler.
• With: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey, Yul Vazquez, David Warshofsky. (English, Somali dialogue)

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Captain phillips, common sense media reviewers.

Nail-biting story of ship hijacking is fabulous but intense.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie has a global message about how terrorist

Captain Phillips is selfless and willing to sacrif

Camera angles bring you up-close to the threats an

A few uses of "s--t" and "piece of

Toyota Sienna, Sony computer.

The Somalis, including one teenager, chew a great

Parents need to know that Captain Phillips is an intense drama based on the true story of an American cargo ship that's hijacked by Somali pirates. Director Paul Greengrass ( United 93 , the Bourne films) is known for his visceral depictions of action-packed violence, and Captain…

Positive Messages

The movie has a global message about how terrorists aren't the only threats, and that poverty can also be a powerful enemy to peace and civilization. The movie also applauds Captain Phillips' ability to bravely and calmly be a selfless leader who cares more about his crew's safety than his own. There's also a message that despite differences in culture and circumstances, there's a shared universal humanity.

Positive Role Models

Captain Phillips is selfless and willing to sacrifice his safety to ensure the safety of his crew. Captain Phillips remains brave and clear-headed during unbelievably grim circumstances. He remains mostly calm and level-headed with the Somalis in order to protect his crew and later to buy himself time. Muse, the head Somali, is fascinating, because he is doing what he has to do for his village, even though it's dangerous and morally wrong. He genuinely believes he won't have to hurt anyone, just ask for the ransom and wait for the money. Many of the crew members rise to the occasion to fight the pirates.

Violence & Scariness

Camera angles bring you up-close to the threats and intensity of the violence. The Somali pirates are heavily armed with semi-automatic machine guns that are usually pointed at the American civilians. At several points it seems like the Somalis are going to kill one of the Americans (usually Phillips). The military gets involved and plans a SEAL mission to try and save the captain, and they have instructions to take out his captors. One of the pirates is a teenager who is seriously hurt when he steps on shattered glass. Phillips is severely beaten. One bullet to the head results in blood/brain spatter on the wall.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

A few uses of "s--t" and "piece of s--t," two "a--hole"s and one "ass." There is also "damn," "goddamn," and some threatening language.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

The Somalis, including one teenager, chew a great deal of khat , a plant that is known for being an amphetamine-like stimulant. While it's a controlled substance in the U.S., it's legal in Somalia. Adults smoke cigarettes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Captain Phillips is an intense drama based on the true story of an American cargo ship that's hijacked by Somali pirates. Director Paul Greengrass ( United 93 , the Bourne films) is known for his visceral depictions of action-packed violence, and Captain Phillips is a real nailbiter with extended scenes of suspense, menace, and violence. There is lots of blood, but just a few casualties -- none of them civilians -- but the camerawork makes the danger -- usually death threats facing a machine gun -- feel personal. Language includes a few uses of "s--t"; the Somalis often chew khat , a plant that's a stimulant; and characters smoke cigarettes as well. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Kids say (66)

Based on 16 parent reviews

Absolutely Amazing Movie.

No winners...only survivors., what's the story.

Based on a true story, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS chronicles how the American cargo ship the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast in 2009. Captain Richard Phillips ( Tom Hanks ) has been assigned a dangerous route to take the container ship to Mombasa, Kenya. After hearing an advisory warning mariners to stay away from the Somali coast, Phillips sees two dots on the radar screen, which he later confirms is two boats filled with Somali pirates. Although the ship manages to escape being overtaken the first day, the next day one speedboat reaches the Alabama, with four young Somali pirates ready to call the shipping company to ask for ransom. Muse (Barkhad Abdi), the leader of the pirates, insists they're not terrorists, just businessmen. A series of unexpected events leads the four pirates to flee on a lifeboat with Phillips as their hostage. Meanwhile, the US Navy plans a rescue attempt to keep the lifeboat from reaching Somalia.

Is It Any Good?

Some moviegoers may have trouble sitting through another of director Paul Greengrass ' in-your-face thrillers, where every moment is fraught with anxiety and dread. But Greengrass is like Hitchcock or Spielberg; he's a gifted storyteller of this genre of movies so intense you bite your nails down to the quick and can't settle your heartbeat. The cinematography, the editing, the score -- it's all set up to make your flight or fight reflex work in overdrive, as you identify wholly with Hanks' middle-aged commanding officer, a man of honor who doesn't suffer fools and who is afraid but still willing to deal with four young pirates holding deadly weapons at his heart.

It's no surprise that Hanks is a master of the craft, so what's truly amazing is how good the young Somali actors are, particularly Abdi as the leader of the four pirates. He tells a rival that he might be skinny, but he's no coward, and his bravery, albeit misguided, is there -- in the way he's unwilling to let his bigger, angrier fellow kill any civilians, including Phillips, and the quiet, calm way he explains that he's a fisherman without fish, implying that this life of piracy is what his warlord bosses expect of him. Even if you know the outcome of this standoff between the pirates and the US Navy, the characters and the performances make Captain Phillips a must see for anyone who appreciates high intensity in their action dramas.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie's use of violence . Is the violence necessary to depict the true story? Could it have been less violent and still evoked the same intensity?

How does the filmmaker's use of camerawork and editing emphasize the sense of danger and violence?

What is the movie's message about the Somali pirates? Are they depicted purely as villains or as more complicated characters? Why do you think they do what they do?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 11, 2013
• On DVD or streaming : January 21, 2014
• Cast : Barkhad Adbi , Catherine Keener , Tom Hanks
• Director : Paul Greengrass
• Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Pirates
• Character Strengths : Courage
• Run time : 134 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use
• Last updated : July 30, 2024

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Captain Phillips: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The film Captain Phillips follows the hijacking of an American boat and kidnapping of its Captain by Somali men, so-called pirates. It is the visualisation of the biography of the kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips. The images and scenes which are presented constantly contrast between the life and actions of the American crew versus the Somali crew. This discussion will outline the misrepresentations and generalisations of the Somalis in this film and how Somalia is viewed and referred to in opposition to the US and the West. Therefore, this discussion will showcase through three layers of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) how Captain Phillips exhibits a distorted view of Somalis within the film and as subordinate in the domineering relationship with the United States (US) and the West. Through this analysis, we will argue that the film Captain Phillips misrepresents and generalises the Somali people as criminal ‘pirates’ and continues a distorted unequal view of the relations between Somalia and America and the West in the   discourse. We will begin with explaining why we chose this film for our analysis. We will then continue with describing our conceptual framework and methodology. Moreover, our analysis of the film is presented in three layers of CDA.

Why Captain Phillips ?

Captain Phillips was chosen to investigate the discourse behind the portrayal of Somali ‘pirates’ in Western media. This film was released in 2013 and was a box-office hit, with a profit of around $220 million and 6 Oscars nominations (Internet Movie Database [IMDb], 2013). The ability of films to shape public discussion and influence news sources demonstrates the importance that this form of popular culture has on perceptions. “In particular, narrative forms—including books, television shows, and movies—have an incredible ability to influence the images and perceptions of individuals and society in general about numerous topics” (Pautz, 2016, p.250). One can thus consider the potential of Captain Phillips to have a significant impact on the public opinion concerning Somali ‘pirates’. Exploring IMDb's brief description of the film, they outline the film as a (crime) thriller as well as a “multi-layered examination” of a true story. Hence the need to explore the representations demonstrated and how it is situated in the global socio-political discourse to fundamentally explore the extent to which it is truly “multi-layered”.

The story of Captain Phillips is based on the real-life events of captain Richard Phillips, who documented his experiences in his memoir A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea (Danoff, 2017).

The film demonstrates how the crew of the MAERSK Alabama container ship encounter four Somali ‘pirates’ during their journey around the Horn of Africa. The ship is hijacked by the pirates, who are unsatisfied with both the value of the cargo and the amount of money that is present. The situation escalates when Captain Phillips is abducted by the pirates leaving the ‘Alabama’ using one of her lifeboats. The US Naval forces and military arrive and end up executing three of the pirates, and imprisoning the remaining pirate. Captain Phillips is saved and celebrated as a hero.

It must be stated that this analysis and discussion is presented by two White European students who have never visited Somalia. Therefore, the perspective of this analysis is essentially based upon a Western-centric knowledge base of European education and thus may potentially continue a Western-biased discussion of Somalis, ‘Africa’ and ‘piracy’.Throughout this blog, the problematic words ‘pirate/s’ and ‘piracy’  will be used to ensure consistency with the film, yet this discourse itself is worthy of debate.  

This discussion explores the discourse surrounding Somali ‘pirates’ within the film and socio-political arenas. Discourse can be defined as the beliefs and narratives that underline any text, language, discussion, or speech (Harcup, 2014). The research takes into account the assumptions behind the film Captain Phillips . It considers not only the explicitly stated assumptions - as stated by the actors in the film for instance - but also the implicit ideas as well as the non-verbal cues in the film.

Critical Discourse Analysis

To investigate this discourse around the story of Captain Phillips , the method of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is employed. CDA reveals power relations and narratives behind the film story (Fairclough, 2017; Munday, 2016), by visually ‘close-reading’ the film in order to discover patterns in the assumptions that are demonstrated - either verbally (by the actors) or visually (camera focus). CDA can be conducted either qualitatively or quantitatively. We have chosen a qualitative lens, as we believe this allows us a greater insight into the discourse, because many underlying assumptions are both unwritten and unsaid amongst the visual aspects of Captain Phillips .

We based our methodology on Fairclough ’ s Critical Discourse Analysis (2017), whose model of analysis consists of three dimensions: the textual, the discursive, and the social. More specifically, we employed Setiawan ’ s (2018) adapted version of Fairclough ’ s model, which he used to analyse the film Negeri van Oranje , by looking at the representation of gayness in it. Thus through following Setiwan’s method, we explore representations and discourse in films specifically. 

First, the textual analysis aims to investigate the text linguistically, looking at the text ’ s structure, its grammar, and its vocabulary. According to Setiawan, these aspects are examined to respond to three things: 

“ the experiental value (a representation of ideology carried in the text), relational value (construction of the relation between the text producer and the consumers), and expressive value (construction of the identity of the text producers and consumers are presented in the text) ” (Setiawan, 2018, p. 4)

Textual analysis in film can be used not only by looking at what is being said in the film, but also by considering non-verbal interaction between characters as well as interactions between the producer and the consumers.

Second, the discursive analysis examines the production and consumption processes of the film. In this dimension of analysis, one aims to answer questions about the producers ’ aim with the film, the norms and values they tried to convey through the narrative, the choice of actors as well as the backgrounds of the producers. Additionally, when looking at the consumption process, the researcher takes into account the success of the film, film reviews, and newspaper articles. Due to the scope of this research, we are not able to consider both the production and the consumption processes of the second dimension. We will therefore mostly look at the production process by examining the producers’ backgrounds and their intentions with the film as they expressed during interviews.

Fairclough's (2017) CDA Model as Presented by Setiawan (2018)

Our own design

Finally, the social analysis places the discourse as discovered in the first two dimensions in the bigger sociocultural context outside the production process. The researcher investigates the time in which the film was produced, the public debate and opinion on the topic at this time, and the influence of political, economic, cultural and social aspects on the film (Setiawan, 2018; Fairclough, 2017)

This section will consist of an analysis of the story of the Captain Phillips film, highlighting the main patterns through three categories: America versus Somalia, the portrayal of the Somali and American captains, and the America-Somali relations.

First Dimension: Textual Analysis

America versus Somalia

There is an evident difference between the illustrations of the US and Somalia in the film. The US is portrayed as organised, powerful, and safe, whereas Somalia is framed as violent, poor and dangerous.

Safe versus Dangerous

We can already see this in the first scenes of the film when the hometowns of the American and Somali Captains are shown. The scene of the American neighbourhood shows a family house, but the Somali opening scenes shows young boys holding weapons. The American scene develops in cars driving on a highway, the American captain and his wife ‘chit-chatting’. In contrast, the scene of Somalia shows warlords entering the Somali village while shooting and shouting.

The danger of Somalia is also verbally stated by Captain Phillips when the container ship leaves on its journey. In the scene below, Phillips wants his crew to prepare for the danger of the Horn of Africa.

Organised versus Chaos

Another contradiction presented in the film is that America is organised and powerful, whereas Somalia is chaotic and backwards. This is evident through the organisation and sophistication of the crew. On the American ship, every crew member knows what to do and they have modern technologies available. Meanwhile, the Somali crew is quickly created through a random selection process where the men shout and barter for a place in the crew. Additionally, the Somali crew only have an old boat and broken engines at their disposal.

The powerful America is also demonstrated through the presence of the Navy and their stronger reinforcements, the SEALs after Captain Phillips is abducted. Both again demonstrate an organised crew utilising modern technologies.

The chaotic Somalia is not only portrayed as such, but it is infantilised as well. The American characters treat the Somali characters as if they are children, which is visible in the two scenes below. The Somali characters even state this themselves, saying that the Americans are “treating us like children”.

A Tale of Two Captains

This misrepresentation of Somalia in the eyes of the West is epitomised in a comparison of the two Captains that feature in the film and their character development. The film opens with a nuclear family, white-picket fence, American-dream family to introduce American Captain Phillips. Whereas when the film flips to Somali Captain Muse’s opening scene, his life is pictured as poor and mess with him oversleeping in a crumbling shack. 

This binary continues through the trajectory of their differing paths throughout the film. Captain Phillips is seen as a hero and selfless throughout the film. From saving his ship and to being congratulated once he was saved, the credits then state that within a few months Captain Phillips was back out on the high seas he is framed as brave and unstoppable. Yet the film fails to mention how in real life, the ship Phillips captained was subsequently sued by 11 of the crew for disregard of their safety (Child 2013). However, with the final scene being extremely emotional and the Captain famously crying out “that’s not my blood”, he is shown in a sympathetic human light as someone who has heroically survived this awful ordeal.

As you can see in the video above as well as in the images below, the Somali Captain Muse follows an opposing discourse. Throughout the film he talks of how after this hijacking he will go to America and buy a car. This belittles his character, to connect the idea of having a car as only achievable in the West. Further later in the film in defence of piracy, he argues to Captain Phillips that this is all they can do to make money, that ‘maybe’ there are other opportunities in America. Finally, as Captain Muse is tricked by the SEALs and chained up, he is ironically informed ‘you’re going to America’. After mentioning Phillips' heroic return to the seas, the film describes Muse’s 33-year sentence in a US prison. Therefore, the opposing trajectory of the film features Philips as a victim and hero, and Muse is represented as a pure criminal with no sympathy or investigation into why he was led to piracy.

America-Somali relations

The relationship between Somalia and the US is represented within the film as unequal with the dominating all-powerful rich state having the power over Somalia. This quote demonstrates that the Americans are unbeatable and in comparison, to a group of individuals from Somalia, they have unlimited resources and endless opportunities to overpower this group. Yet most telling for the Somali-US relationship is that this all-powerful strong country like the US ‘cannot risk being beaten by Somalis’ due to international repercussions. This suggests even in combat the Somali-US relationship is not equal but rather the shame for the Navy of America to be beaten by a group of Somali pirates is a much greater threat for their reputation and their country in their international sphere, the West, than the pirate attack itself.

Captain Phillips to Captain Muse:

The Navy won’t let you win. They can’t let you win.

This unequal relationship is demonstrated as the Somalis are seen to depend upon the Americans. This is evidenced through the provision of aid and goods that the American ship is holding, at a basic level showcases Somali as a receiver and as reliant on the West to feed ‘the starving people of Africa’. This usage of this grouping within the script demonstrates that these Americans see a group of suffering people with this their main identifier, the aspect of their need. Whilst this notion of rich countries exemplifies how this sits within the larger discussion of the West saving Africa reinforcing the West as dominant and Africa as the dependent. Muse’s reply is critical as it shows the Somalis' awareness of their continual place within the Africa-West relationship as needing to be saved, rather than being seen as equal.

Second Dimension: Discursive Analysis

In considering the production process of the film, this analysis will discuss the novel the film is based on, the backgrounds of the producers as well as their intentions with the film. 

Production Process

One of the large differences between the storyline in the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, and the film’s storyline, is that (the real-life) Richard Phillips did not go into depth on the backgrounds of the Somali pirates nor their motives (Danoff, 2017). This can be understood as the Captain was abducted by the pirates. However, in his book he strikingly states that the pirates’ reason for the hijack and abduction was not that they could no longer be fishermen due to foreign fishing fleets and toxic-waste dumping, as he contradicts this with his claim;

 “I’d seen schools of mackerel, tuna, and other fish every time I’d gone down the coast of Somalia. There was a living to be made out there. I believed the Somalis had simply found easier work: piracy.” (Phillips & Talty, 2010, p.65)

The story on which the film was based focused on the brave Captain Phillips and his rescue by the great American forces rather than exploring the story from other perspectives (Danoff, 2017). In evaluating this as a starting point of the film, we can see that the original narrative is very much written from an American perspective. 

The director, Paul Greengrass, indicated that it was one of his major aims of the film to add the Somali perspective. To examine the young Somali men and their environment, and to demonstrate their reasons for becoming pirates (The Guardian, 2013). According to Greengrass, as well as screenwriter Billy Ray, the Somali pirates are living in a hopeless society, where there is only corruption, violence, and poverty; men with nothing to lose (The Guardian, 2013; Film4, 2013; Danoff, 2017). Ray said the following about the Somali Captain Muse:

Muse cannot just wake up in the morning and ... apply for work at a Wal-Mart, because there are just two businesses in Somalia - piracy and the sale of khat [drug]... We're talking about a place with zero economic opportunity, a failed state that has no Navy, no real coast guard and no police. It's a mess, and Muse wakes up every day in the middle of it. I'm not trying to justify piracy, but we needed to open a lens and show viewers what it looks like in Eyl [Somalia], so that you can understand the pirates as human beings. (Danoff, 2017, p.41)

Greengrass confirmed this, expressing his aim not to romanticise pirates, nor demonise them, but rather show the complex reasons for crime (The Guardian, 2013; Film4, 2013). Although he states that his film is “ ultimately is a crime story, it’s a story of a crime and its consequences. The crime is the stealing of a ship and later the kidnap of the captain” (Film4, 2013). Moreover, he stated that he wanted the film to be as authentic and realistic as possible as if it was a documentary. Greengrass believed optimal authenticity is achieved mostly by the correct casting: “it was absolutely imperative that you had Somali actors and it makes a difference, because it makes the entire picture feel authentic.” (Film4, 2013) 

The way in which the screenwriter and director talk about Somali pirates, already demonstrates that they have a particular view of Somali pirates and Somalia. Even though they claim that they want to show the story behind the pirates, they merely succeed in a superficial portrayal of Somalia as poor, violent, and beyond-saving. They acknowledge the impact that foreign companies have had on the original income of the Somali people - fishing - however, they believe that the pirates are in the wrong because they are still exhibited as criminals. Greengrass’s aims were to show that who the victim and aggressor in crime might not always be clear-cut, that societies in which crimes take place are complex, and therefore the reality of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is similarly complex and inseparable. Greengrass claimed that “I wanted to show that these were desperate young men with no chance of employment, and that they generally culturally worship America (Banoff, 42)”. Yet in doing so, as he does through Muse’s aspiration of “going to New York, buy a car” (see Dimension 1: A Tale of Two Captains), he generalises and infantilises Muse. Despite the filmmakers’ more neutral and critical aims, his film still showcases Somalia, Africa and the Somalia people in a very generalised and simplified illustration. 

Third Dimension: Social Analysis

In this final dimension of using Setiawan’s method, we explore how Captain Phillips and the discourses represented within the film relate to public debates at the time of production and how it fits within political, cultural and economic systems of the milieu. The film hit the box office in 2013, with the rise of piracy within the Western 24hr news culture in the late 2000s/early 2010s, this phenomenon felt like a threat due to its prevalence in Western media (Collins 2012, Way 2013). Yet as seen in Collin’s chart below, piracy was over-exaggerated as a threat by the media (2012, 116), which the film monopolises upon and further exasperates.

Collins (2012), p.116

Beyond this, the film fails to explain the political-economical system in which piracy exists. Whilst there is an ongoing debate over the causes of piracy, there are three main debates. Firstly, piracy exists due to poverty, a lack of state government and as an opportunity to ameliorate life chances (Elmi et al. 2015, 158, Carafono et al. 2009, Lennox 2008, Way 2014). Secondly, piracy exists as a form of defence and protection of resources (Elmi et al. 2015). Thirdly, Samatar et al. claim that ‘resource piracy’ is when piracy occurs in reaction to the often-illegal overfishing and toxic-waste dumping by large commercial boats leading fishermen to turn to piracy (2010, p.1379). Although the film mentions some of these causes, returning to our analysis of the second dimension, the problem is that these causes are brushed over with the criminality of the Somali men as pirates being focused upon by Greengrass’ direction instead.

Beyond this public media debate where Somalis with a lack of other incomes turn to piracy are continually viewed as a threat there can be a further investigation of the international capitalist system in which the aforementioned unequal relationship between Somalia and America exists. Somalia at the height of this ‘piracy’ endemic was situated as the perfect example within ‘the failed state discourse’ (Rothe and Collins 2011, and Samatar et al. 2010). A failed state refers to a country with a lack of legal system, government, police, army and bureaucratic institutions (Glück 2011, p.83-88, Samatar et al. 2010, p.1377-8). Without a government, a state cannot enforce taxes internally or externally, and without a ‘monopoly on violence’ and state military, there is no way to enforce protection of maritime areas (Glück 2011, p.83-88) Hence there is a lack of funding for jobs, security and poverty alleviation. Thus when Captain Muse argues that his piracy is for ‘tax’, his act of maritime piracy is in lieu of government support. Although it must be noted that the ‘failed state discourse’ is highly problematic as it is seen to constrain society to a Westphalian ideal and a Western conception of government and state ( Hagmann and Hoehne 2009, Hill 2005). However this does explain the Western-dominated discourse and audience which the film both appeals to and contributes to.

Captain Muse to Captain Phillips:

Irish, it’s taxes. This money, taking you, that’s all it is. You come to our waters, you got to pay

From the perspective of the failed state discourse, one can argue that without a government, states cannot protect their waters or punish foreign states who vandalise their land/sea. Therefore as Bueger notes, ‘pirates’ replace states in protecting against toxic-waste dumping, overfishing and invasion of maritime borders (2013). Hence the Somali men in the film fight against the exploitation of the vulnerable condition of Somalia at the time through piracy - which is framed in the West as criminal - without exploring how the West contributes to Somalia’s vulnerability. It could be further argued that, following a World Systems view (Wallerstein 1974), states at the core of the world’s economy, such as those of the rich West including the US, extract and maintain their core position in the international system through their exploitation of Somalia, a peripheral state in the international capitalist economy. In other words, due to the international capitalist system, the US profits from Somalia’s state of ruin through illegal overfishing and toxic waste dumping, so for Somali people, piracy is a form of agency and taxes used in order to avoid destitution as they have no strong government to fight for them. 

Yet in Captain Phillips we simply see aggressive pirates and heroic strong Americans under threat. 

In conclusion, the film presents a simplification of the true political and economic milieu in which Somalis were living at the time. Through focusing on the heroism of America it dehumanises, misrepresents and criminalises the struggle of the Somali people as violent and poor ‘pirates’, and continues a narrative where Somalis are both reliant upon and dominated by the West.

To conclude, through the first dimension of our analysis we found that Captain Phillips generalised the Somali men as poor and violent and further generalised and simplified the difference between Somalia and America as contrasting opposites. Further, the film was written from an American perspective building upon the American-centric biography it was based upon. Whilst Greengrass indicated his aim to create a multi-layered film by highlighting the Somali side of the story; we found in the first dimension that in his attempt to do this he created a simplified, infantilised and criminalised version of the dilemma of Captain Muse and his crew’s struggle in comparison to a heroic view of Captain Phillips and the US. Beyond this in the third dimension, the film contributes and is situated within the Western discourse a ‘failed state’, wherein Somalia is seen and generalised as an anarchic state, and Somali people as violent, poor and dependent on the West. We can see these three dimensions interact in this generalisation of Somalia throughout Captain Phillips . This substantiated our argument that Somalia and its people are misrepresented in the film, and simplified as criminals coming from a failed state. With our critical discourse analysis we revealed that this film as well as the discourse in which the film is situated fails to understand the unequal power relations at play, wherein the West/US’s exploitation of Somalia can be seen as one of the reasons that Somali people resort to piracy.

This research is important as it highlights the need for the West, the aimed audience of these blockbuster films, to question and investigate these misrepresentations of African peoples and their states within these films. Furthermore, it highlights the need to explore how these misrepresentations influence the West’s consumption of media and 24hr news, and in turn influences our conception of ‘Somalia’, ‘Somali people’ and the relationship between the West and Africa. Due to research limitations, there is more scope to explore within this field, from potential to explore the consumption process of Captain Phillips . For instance, through engaging with the audience’s views, cast interviews, film reviews, and a psychological investigation to understand how this film influences people’s perception of Somalia and piracy. Moreover, through examining how the 24hr news corporations capitalised on this film in their coverage of piracy in the Horn of Africa. 

Captain Phillips attempts to be diverse in its perception of an example of Somali piracy, yet hits the rocks, sinking down with misrepresentations and generalisations of Somali people. Which other of your favourite Hollywood films are awash with similar problematic discourse? Can you stop those power dynamics presented within the discourse from anchoring into public discussion and opinion? Comment these films below! Start the conversation with your friends soon.

Bueger C. (2013). Practice, Pirates and Coast Guards: the grand narrative of Somali piracy, Third World Quarterly , 34(10), 1811-1827.

Captain Phillips . (2013, October 24). Marineschepen.nl. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://marineschepen.nl/reviews/captain-phillips.html  

Carafano J., Weitz, R., & Andersen, M. (2009). Maritime Security: Fighting Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Beyond . Heritage Foundation. 

Chen, S. A. (2013). Captain Phillips . Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/captain-phillips  

Child, B. (2013, October 14). Captain Phillips ‘no hero’ in real life, say ship’s crew . The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/14/captain-phillips-tom-hanks-real-life-no-hero  

Chitwood, A. (2013, July 26). 2 Posters for Paul Greengrass’ Somali Pirate Drama CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, Starring Tom Hanks. Collider. https://collider.com/captain-phillips-movie-posters/  

Collins, V. E. (2012). Dangerous seas: Moral panic and the Somali pirate. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology , 45(1), 106-132.

Danoff, B. (2017). “I’m the Captain Now”: Power, Justice, and Tragedy in “Benito Cereno” and Captain Phillips. American Political Thought (Chicago, Ill.) , 6:1, 30–53. 

Elmi, A. A., Affi, L., Knight, W. A. & Mohamed, S. (2015). Piracy in the Horn of Africa Waters: Definitions, History, and Modern Causes. African Security , 8(3), 147-165.

Film4. (2013, October 17). Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass on Captain Phillips. Film4 Interview Special. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmfW0ygBkwM&ab_channel=Film4

Flixabout.com. (2017), December 2 nd ,. Fairclough Critical Discourse Analysis. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_5riFCMGA&ab_channel=flixabout.com

Glück, Z. (2011). Maritime Piracy, Capital and Securitization: The Case of Somalia. In Tarrosy, I., Szabo, L., & Hyden, G. The African State in a Changing Global Context: Breakdowns and Transformations . (pp.83-100). LIT Verlag. 

Greengrass, P. (2013). Captain Phillips [Film]. Colombia Pictures.

Hagmann, T., & Hoehne, M. V. (2009). Failures of the state failure debate: evidence from the Somali territories. Journal of International Development: The Journal of the Development Studies Association , 21(1), 42-57.

Harcup, T. (2014). A Dictionary of Journalism . OUP Oxford.

Hill, J. (2005). Beyond the Other? A postcolonial critique of the failed state thesis. African Identities , 3:2, 139-154.

Internet Movie Database [IMDb]. (2013). “Captain Phillips.” Accessed on 12-12-2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535109/

Movieclips. (2017), n.d., Captain Phillips (2013) - You’re Safe Now Scene (10/10). [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng95gpwSjZU&ab_channel=Movieclips  

Munday, J. (2016). Discourse and register analysis approaches. In J. Munday,

Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications . (pp. 141-168). Routledge.

Lennox, P. (2008). Contemporary Piracy off the Horn of Africa . Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute.

Pautz, M. C. (2016). Cops on Film: Hollywood’s Depiction of Law Enforcement in Popular Films, 1984–2014. PS, Political Science & Politics , 49(2), 250–258. 

Phillips, R. & Talty, S. (2010). A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea. Hyperion.

Rothe, D.L. & Collins, V. E. (2011).  Got a band-aid? Political discourse, militarized responses, and the Somalia pirate, Contemporary Justice Review , 14:3, 329-343. 

Samatar A.I., Lindberg, M. & Mahayni, B. (2010). The Dialectics of Piracy in Somalia: the rich versus the poor. Third World Quarterly , 31:8, 1377-1394.

Setiawan, H. (2018). Deconstructing Concealed Gayness Text in The Film Negeri van Oranje: Critical Discourse Analysis. Humaniora, 30(1), 39-49.

The Guardian. (2013, October 23). Captain Phillips: director Paul Greengrass on his thriller starring Tom Hanks. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKJ00tdYxuE&ab_channel=TheGuardian

Burning Questions: Captain Phillips and Ugly Audiences. (2013, September 26). the Film Experience. Retrieved December 20, 2021, from http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2013/9/26/burning-questions-captain-phillips-and-ugly-audiences.html  

Wallerstein, I. (1974). T he Modern World System. Vol. 1, Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York Academic Press.

Way, L. (2013). Orientalism in online news: BBC stories of Somali piracy. J ournal of African Media Studies , 5(1), 19-33.

Way L. (2014).  Discourses on Somali Piracy, Journalism Practice , 8:1, 80-95.

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Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

4K Ultra HD Review – Captain Phillips (2013)

July 20, 2024 by Brad Cook

Captain Phillips , 2013.

Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Catherine Keener, Michael Chernus, David Warshofsky, Corey Johnson, Chris Mulkey, Barkhad Abdirahaman, Faysal Ahmed, and Yul Vazquez.

Captain Phillips , a 2013 film directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, arrives on 4K Ultra HD in a SteelBook edition that also includes a Blu-ray and a code for a digital copy. No new extras were created, but the legacy bonus features do a good job of telling the story of a movie based on a harrowing ordeal at sea.

My appreciation for Tom Hanks goes back a long way. I remember watching Bosom Buddies on TV (a crappy little standard-def one, I’m sure) and seeing movies like Splash and Big in the theater. I even took in Mazes and Monsters , a made-for-TV movie that tied into the interest around Dungeons & Dragons during the 1980s (and, yes, needlessly sensationalized role-playing games).

Like Jimmy Stewart could do once up a time, Hanks can simply inhabit just about any role and become that person. Sure, you know it’s him playing that part, but the seeming ease with which he slips into a role is kind of magical. I guess he’s the movie equivalent of comfort food for me.

Which brings me to Captain Phillips , the 2013 movie directed by Paul Greengrass and based on the harrowing ordeal suffered by Captain Richard Phillips when the container vessel he was in charge of was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. The film starts shortly before the hijacking and takes the viewer through its conclusion.

Phillips and his crew have been trained to deal with pirates, and the ship, MV Maersk Alabama, is equipped with various features that allow the captain to successfully repel one attempt by armed Somalis. They return, however, and gain control of the ship from its unarmed crew, leading to a tense stand-off as they try to extract a ransom from the shipping company and the U.S. Navy attempts to stop them from getting back to Somalia.

The early part of the movie cuts between Captain Phillips and his crew and the Somalis, demonstrating the stark contrast in both groups’ lives. The Somalis are determined but not very well trained, which leads to conflicts among them as the hijacking stretches over a few days and they begin bickering with each other.

Of course, Captain Phillips and his crew are just as determined, and the captain in particular is willing to put his life on the line by getting into a lifeboat with three of the pirates as ransom negotiations continue. I assume you probably know how the story ends, but I won’t spoil it, just in case.

Greengrass was a great choice to direct this one, given the kind of handheld documentary style he used with the movie United 93 . Captain Phillips isn’t quite in the same class of docudrama as United 93 , but many of the most intense parts of the story are told here in a similar style.

As one of the bonus features reveals, Greengrass’s approach to directing the movie also helped it come across with a documentary feel. More on that in a moment.

Sony has issued Captain Phillips on 4K Ultra HD with an included Blu-ray that contains the movie and the legacy bonus features. The film looks great in 4K, with a crisp image and plenty of clear details. There are plenty of dimly lit scenes in this movie, and the 4K disc handles them well. (I’m not sure if the Blu-ray is the same one previously issued or if it uses the same transfer as the 4K disc.)

The only bonus feature found on the 4K Ultra HD disc, which is replicated on the Blu-ray, is a commentary track with Greengrass. He’s always an enjoyable listen when he does commentaries, and he doesn’t disappoint here, keeping the viewer engaged with all kinds of stories about the making of the movie.

The rest of the extras, consisting of three featurettes, are found on the Blu-ray platter; nothing new was created for this edition. Together, those featurettes comprise Capturing Captain Phillips , which has a total running time of close to an hour, so you’ll learn plenty about the movie by the end.

Embarkation (20:23) kicks off this making-off by grounding the viewer in the news stories that aired when the hijacking happened. Greengrass and the real Captain Phillips feature prominently here as they set the stage for what happened in real life. You’ll also learn about the real container ship obtained for shooting and how Greengrass applied elements of improvisation here and there to get more natural dialogue and reactions from the actors.

Full Ahead is the meat of this documentary, running nearly 25 minutes and getting deep into how the film was made out on the open ocean, which, as Steven Spielberg discovered while making Jaws , is not always easy. No sets were used in the film, which adds to that “you’re in the moment” feeling as the hijacking and its aftermath unfold. This segment also gets into real world piracy, which remains a problem in certain parts of the world.

Finally, Stand Fast wraps up with a 13.5-minute look at the most intense part of the movie, which is set in the lifeboat as Captain Phillips attempts to keep his cool with three armed Somalis and the U.S. Navy decides how they will resolve the situation. Fun fact: the finale was completely improvised.

Both discs are housed in a handsome SteelBook which will look nice on your shelf, if you’re into that kind of thing. You also get a code for a digital copy of the movie.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

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Captain Phillips Review

Riveting true tale on the high seas..

Captain Phillips sets the bar for high stakes and visceral filmmaking, offering a brave, heartfelt Tom Hanks as a new type of action hero.

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Captain Phillips Review

To say that I’m a fan of the visceral filmmaking aesthetic of director Paul Greengrass would be a massive understatement.

I think he’s a genius, and he’s one of my absolute favorite directors. From the stunningly realized recreations of real-world tragedies as depicted in masterpieces like Bloody Sunday and United 93 to his fantastic studio-based work on the Bourne franchise and the supremely underrated Iraq war thriller Green Zone, he employs a certain degree of cinematic ve risimilitude that I find thrilling and immediate to experience.

2013’s Captain Phillips found him working with a nearly-career-best Tom Hanks on the true story of a freight ship captain who is taken hostage by Somali pirates on the open seas.

Newcomer Barkhad Abdi was terrific as Hanks’s main nemesis, projecting both desperation and anger in an extremely vivid, unpredictable performance.

Billy Ray’s compressed and tight screenplay fed very well into Greengrass’ inherently stripped down storytelling instincts.

Ace cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker, United 93) kept the camera swerving and ducking, and in tandem with the staccato editing patterns of Chris Rouse, the film maintained a break-neck momentum for two, extremely tight hours, demonstrating nearly unrelentingly intensity.

When those final five minutes arrive, with Hanks pulling out all the stops and shattering the screen in an emotional juggernaut of acting – it’s not only his character’s catharsis but that of the audience, too. One of the best “ripped-from-the-headlines” thrillers of all-time, this is a crisp and clean actioner with important topical overtones, and produced with a phenomenal sense of the here and now.

Review by Nick Clement

• Captain Phillips

One of the best “ripped-from-the-headlines” thrillers of all-time, this is a crisp and clean actioner with important topical overtones, and produced with a phenomenal sense of the here and now.

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Nick Clement

Nick Clement is a freelance writer, having contributed to Variety Magazine, Hollywood- Elsewhere, Awards Daily, Back to the Movies (of course), and Taste of Cinema.

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Captain Phillips Review

Captain Phillips is a white-knuckled thriller from the director of the Bourne sequels and offers one of Tom Hanks' best performances.

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Captain Phillips

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Reviews in chronological order (Total 1 review)

Full agreement with the review above. Having recently visited a container ship, I found so much in this film that reminded me of the visit. The film is a slightly-modified-from true-events story of a 2009 piracy exploit from the point of view of the pirates, the victim ship and the US Navy. It has blockbuster/don't-miss-this, edge-of-seat suspense written all over it. The production design work must have been prodigious with all the boats and ships involved. And Tom Hanks, as we have come to expect in recent decades. does an over-the-top acting job here including a mimic of a Vermont accent. Other actors and the director are highly worthy of praise. Miss this one and you'll envy those whom you hear rave about it.

11 October 2013 10:59PM

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The Big Picture

• Captain Phillips is a gripping biographical film based on the true story of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama.
• The movie received critical acclaim but was criticized for its depiction of the hero and certain aspects of the true events.
• The success of Captain Phillips highlights the audience's interest in inspirational true stories and biopics.

The biopic genre has become increasingly popular over the course of the 21st century. While some viewers may have trouble relating to the overabundance of comic book films released every year, stories that at least claim to be somewhat “real” may seem more inviting. Focusing on critical historical figures, such as Napoleon or Malcolm X , is one way to get attention; however, there’s also the potential to gauge interest based on stories that were only recently in the news cycle. This was the case with Paul Greengrass ’ 2013 film Captain Phillips , which was based on the hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in 2009 by Somali Pirates.

Greengrass was an acclaimed filmmaker whose prior experience made him perfectly suited for this unusual story. In addition to redefining the action movie genre with The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum , Greengrass proved that he could bring traumatic true stories to life with his devastating historical drama United 93 . It should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen his past work that Captain Phillips is a harrowing, challenging examination of one of the most terrifying true stories to make international headlines. However, Captain Phillips has been criticized by some of its subjects for its overtly positive depiction of the title hero.

Captain Phillips

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

What Is 'Captain Phillips' About?

Captain Phillips is based on the non-fiction novel A Ca ptain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Stephan Talty and the real Captain Richard Phillips, portrayed by Tom Hanks in the film. A veteran merchant mariner with several decades of experience on the seas, Phillips was ordered to sail with his unarmed cargo container orders through the Guardafui Channel to Mombasa, Kenya. While Phillips has more than a little experience in these dangerous waters, he decides to undergo a practice drill alongside First Office Shane Murphy ( Michael Chernus ) after the two become wary of potential pirate activity . Unfortunately, their worst fears are realized when four armed pirates, led by Abduwali Muse ( Barkhad Abdi ) , take control of the ship.

Captain Phillips details the titular hero’s attempts to negotiate with the pirates to diffuse tension , thus avoiding an outbreak of violence. While the pirates are small in numbers, Muse indicates that he is not afraid to start a massacre if he does not feel like he is in complete control. Initially, the crew attempts to appease their captors by offering the $30,000 in the ship’s safe as a potential peace offering; however, Muse rebukes this, claiming that he was under orders to take the crew hostage in order to barter for his tribe. This leads the crew to fight to take back the ship and back Muse into a corner. While the pirates are set to be cast off in a lifeboat, they ultimately abduct Phillips are take him hostage on the open water.

Phillips’ life is only barely spared after an operation by the United States Navy comes to his rescue. The Navy is under strict orders to not let the pirates reach Somalia, where they could potentially gain additional reinforcements or resources. Muse rebukes all attempts to negotiate and argues that the mission needs to trek on. Phillips is tied up and nearly killed, but in the film’s shocking ending , the Navy forces come in and execute the four other pirates. Phillips is narrowly rescued after swimming to safety, and Muse is detained for crimes of piracy.

How Accurate Was ‘Captain Phillips?'

Captain Phillips was well received by critics upon its initial release, earning several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. While the film’s subject ended up attending the Oscar ceremony alongside both Hanks and Greengrass, the real Phillips was criticized for rushing the safety procedures required of the mission , which resulted in an unnecessary trek into enemy waters. Several crew members alleged that Phillips, the shipping company, and the operator were all to blame for the tragedy, but a potential court case was settled before it went to trial.

Phillips testified in 2010 that “it would be a matter of when, not if” the crew encountered pirates , as hijackings were common in the 1,000 nautical miles surrounding Somalia . Although the real Murphy was largely positive in his opinion of the film, he did feel that it was disrespectful that Greengrass did not show the other members of the crew reuniting with their families in the aftermath of the hijacking, as many had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Greengrass rebuked these controversies by stating that he was “confident that Captain Phillips did not take an irresponsible route along the coast of Somalia.” He went on to address the direct criticisms by stating that “the film shows clearly Captain Phillips receiving warnings about pirate attacks, putting into place security measures onboard ship.”

What Is the Value of Films Like 'Captain Phillips'?

Given the respectable box office total and acclaim at the end-of-year award ceremonies, it’s evident that Captain Phillips told an inspirational true story that connected with audiences. However, it's somewhat difficult to determine what Grengrass’ intentionality with the film was. If it was only to highlight how brave the real Phillips was, he succeeded in creating an effective thriller . The film would require more scrutiny if it was trying to warn about pirate attacks, as evidence points to the entire incident being a rarity.

Captain Phillips was the latest in Hanks’ series of films based on real American heroes. In the aftermath of the film’s success, Hanks starred as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks , James Donovan in Bridge of Spies , Captain Sully Sullenberger in Sully, Ben Bradlee in The Post , and Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood . But the combination of Greengrass and Hanks made for one of the best films from both filmmakers.

Captain Phillips is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

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Captain phillips: film review.

Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks team up for a pulsating account of the kidnapping of the captain of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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From Gravity to All Is Lost and 12 Years a Slave , ’tis the season for survival stories, and another good one joins this classy club with Captain Phillips , a pulsating account of the kidnapping of the captain of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates. Something of a companion piece for director Paul Greengrass to his superb United 93 , which was based on the real-life takeover of one of the 9/11 aircraft, this immaculately made reconstruction of a chaotic incident will have a much better time of it commercially than the earlier film due to the presence of star Tom Hanks and because it has a happy ending. Set to world premiere as the opening-night attraction of the New York Film Festival on Sept. 27, the Sony release will go out commercially Oct. 11.

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With his irrepressibly kinetic style, Greengrass could probably make the opening of a cereal box exciting, so it was almost a no-brainer that he could successfully handle a story like this, which features not only logistical challenges but the sort of volatile political backdrop he has favored in most of his work. Still, for a story that pits locals versus Americans in the Middle East and boasts a climax that involves Navy SEALs, U.S. choppers and warships, the taut screenplay by Billy Ray ( Shattered Glass , The Hunger Games ) essentially makes no mention of religion, al-Qaida or the war on terror, concentrating on the more essential reality of impoverished young men, some of them fishermen, pushed to extreme measures by the big bucks bandit bosses offer for Western hostages, for whom they can demand millions. It’s “just business,” as so many criminals throughout history have said.

The Bottom Line Paul Greengrass excels again at recreating a perilous chapter of the post-9/11 era.

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And so it is for Hanks’ Richard Phillips , a middle-aged civilian captain who bids his wife ( Catherine Keener ) adieu in Vermont in late March 2009 to take an enormous container ship from southern Oman down along the coast of Somalia and then to Kenya. Unusually for a vessel in these waters, it’s an American ship, the Maersk Alabama out of Norfolk, manned by a U.S. crew. Phillips is curt with his crew members and, given the rash of pirate attacks of late, extremely attentive to security matters. He doesn’t say it in so many words, but it’s clear Phillips just wants to get this job done as quickly as possible, collect his check and go home.

On the beach in the pirate city of Eyl, Somalia, voyages of a different sort are being organized by shouting, rifle-toting young African men recruiting crews to hijack large vessels out at sea and bring back money as well as hostages who might be exchanged for very large ransoms. Dozens of mostly skinny guys in their teens and 20s eagerly volunteer for action; in short order, enough to man two skiffs are selected.

The usual Greengrass skill is evident with the diverse settings and mix of languages and accents, the combination of technologies high and low, the laying out of logistics and constant movement from place to place and the outer limits of human resilience and endurance in dealing with severe threats to them. The director has long since mastered relaying exposition as economically as possible and, visually, he and ace cinematographer Barry Ackroyd make the tiny open motorboats that pursue the hulking, graceless container ship look like minnows bird-dogging a whale.

VIDEO: Tom Hanks Negotiates With Pirates in ‘Captain Phillips’ Trailer

As it happens, the alert Captain Phillips notices the two boats bearing down on him just as he’s conducting an attack preparation drill. As the Alabama moves very slowly and has limited maneuverability, there’s not much the crew can do but slowly shift course and fire big water hoses at the marauders — rather incredibly in these waters, a merchant vessel carries no arms. Discouraged by increasingly rough seas, one skiff turns back, but the other perseveres, enabling four pirates to climb aboard using a ladder they hook to the ship’s side.

Thus ensues a cat-and-mouse game in which the crew hides in the engine room while Phillips, called “Irish” by the bony, buck-toothed ringleader Muse ( Barkhad Abdi ), tries to stall for time. Whenever they sense any games are being played, the pirates go into paroxysms of ranting and raving and, soon enough, Phillips offers them the $30,000 in cash he has on hand to call it a day. But the hothead of the group, Najee ( Faysal Ahmed ), knows better, insisting they hold out for millions since all these ships are insured for just such an incident.

As Muse and the youngest pirate, Bilal ( Barkhad Abdirahman ), are injured and a big U.S. Navy vessel is moving in, the pirates shortly take off with their most valuable asset, Captain Phillips, in an orange, ugly-looking lifeboat in which they hope to reach the Somali coast within 36 hours. As tempers fray and conditions become suffocating in this little shell of a craft, the American military goes into a full-court press, dispatching more boats as well as Navy SEALs to the scene to try to rescue Phillips.

ANALYSIS: Why Tom Hanks’ ‘Captain Phillips’ Is Opening the New York Film Fest

Since this military operation was big news in April 2009, the outcome is no surprise. However, if the film accurately depicts how it went down, it was even more hair-breadth and last-second than was generally reported. But more powerful even than that is Hanks’ stunned response to the attack and his emotional aftermath. Hysteria, delayed reaction, wordless silence — these have been seen many times in dramatized accounts of traumatic events. But Hanks has come up with something different, a rendering of a state of shock quite unique in which his altered condition stands in extreme contrast to the routine questions and reassurances of the attending nurse. It’s an extraordinary scene, one for which there is little precedent.

The presentation of the four pirates, who speak in their local language as well as in some English, is both interesting and a bit predictable. These are young men — or, in at least one case, a teenager — who didn’t know one another before being selected for the mission, and they spend a lot of time criticizing and bickering. Muse establishes a measure of rapport with Phillips, frequently assuring him they don’t mean to harm him no matter how frequently the wild-eyed Najee shouts and waves a gun in his face, while Bilal is mostly hobbled with his injury and skipper Elmi ( Mahat M. Ali ) seems petrified driving no matter what craft he’s in.

The film rips right along and never relinquishes its grip. The format of the last-minute heroics goes back to the earliest Westerns and could well be accused of patness or being cliched — other than for the fact that it’s what happened. Unsurprisingly, though, the director indulges in no jingoistic, rah-rah stuff with the Navy, even if it has not often been the case that American military operations in the Middle East have come off exactly as planned.

Craftsmanship and technical contributions are first-rate all the way, while Henry Jackman ‘s electronic score throbs underneath most of the action.

Opens: Oct. 11 (Sony) Production: Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Michael De Luca Productions, Trigger Street Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey, Yul Vazquez, David Warshofsky, Catherine Keener Director: Paul Greengrass Screenwriter: Billy Ray, based on the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty Producers: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca Executive producers: Gregory Goodman, Eli Bush, Kevin Spacey Director of photography: Barry Ackroyd Production designer: Paul Kirby Costume designer: Mark Bridges Editor: Christopher Rouse Music: Henry Jackman PG-13 rating, 133 minutes

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A Thriller Armed With Thought

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By Manohla Dargis

• Oct. 10, 2013

“Captain Phillips,” a movie that insistently closes the distance between us and them , has a vital moral immediacy. It was directed by Paul Greengrass, the British filmmaker who quickened the pulse of contemporary action cinema with the second and third installments in the Bourne franchise, features that proved yet again that big-screen thrills and thought need not be mutually exclusive. Kinetic action and intelligence are similarly the driving forces in “Captain Phillips,” which, like Mr. Greengrass’s Bourne movies, shakes you up first with its style and then with its ideas.

The story is based on shivery, true events that unfolded in early April 2009 , when four armed Somalis seized the Maersk Alabama, an American container ship under the command of Richard Phillips. The ship, with an unarmed crew of just 20 sailors, was hauling tons of cargo in hundreds of containers, including food from the United Nations World Food Program designated for African countries. To the Somalis, the ship apparently looked like a floating jackpot. What happened next played out in world news, and Captain Phillips went on to write, with Stephan Talty, a plodding, straightforward book with the telegraphing title “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea.”

“Captain Phillips” is based on “A Captain’s Duty,” and while they trace a similar narrative arc and share numerous details, they’re worlds apart in terms of sensibility. Written by Billy Ray (whose credits include “Shattered Glass”), it opens with a postcard-perfect shot of a white Vermont house. Inside, Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) is packing up and checking his route. He and his wife, a nurse, Andrea (Catherine Keener, who’s there to underscore Phillips’s decency), are soon on their way to the airport and murmuring about their children, the future and a fast, scarily changing world. There’s a stiltedness to their talk — and Mr. Hanks leads too hard with a broad Boston accent — yet the scene’s intimacy, and the couple’s vulnerabilities, immediately humanize Phillips.

Mr. Greengrass likes to work fast. One minute Phillips is hugging his wife at the airport and the next he’s walking the decks of the Maersk Alabama, testing its unlocked security gates and running his crew through a safety drill. Almost as soon as the crew finishes the exercise, it’s confronted with a real-world threat: two rapidly approaching skiffs. Phillips and the crew dodge the skiffs by increasing their speed (the real ship’s speed topped out at 18 knots, or about 21 miles per hour) and shifting course to churn up destabilizing waves. Badly rocked, their jerry-built engines sputtering, the skiffs turn back, but the next day, one returns with four heavily armed Somali men. Led by Muse (the newcomer Barkhad Abdi, very, very fine), the Somalis board the Alabama, initiating a harrowing siege.

At the time of the hijacking, a lot of the news reports focused on Captain Phillips and the nominal exoticism of a 21st-century piracy that had nothing to do with illegal downloads, football or Johnny Depp swashbuckling through a Disney franchise. The existential realities that inform contemporary Somali piracy turn out to be one of the unexpected themes of “Captain Phillips,” which begins as something of a procedural about men at work and morphs into a jittery thriller even as it also deepens, brilliantly, unexpectedly, into an unsettling look at global capitalism and American privilege and power. Phillips is unambiguously a heroic figure , but he’s scarcely the sole point of interest in a movie that steadily and almost stealthily asserts the agonized humanity of his captors.

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Captain Phillips Is Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Maritime Action Thriller

Captain phillips.

Photo by Jasin Boland/Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.

After you've seen Captain Phillips , come back and listen to Slate's Spoiler Special with Dana Stevens and David Weigel.

You can also download the podcast here .

 The defining scene of Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips occurs in the last few minutes, after the cargo-ship captain of the title, played by Tom Hanks, has survived his ordeal of being taken hostage on a lifeboat by four Somali pirates off the coast of Africa. It isn’t spoiling anything to note that the captain makes it off the lifeboat alive—after all, the real-life Richard Phillips went on to write a book about the harrowing 2009 hijacking of his ship, upon which this movie (written by Billy Ray of Shattered Glass and The Hunger Games ) is based. But the way Greengrass treats the moment is something I won’t spoil, except to say that this last scene exemplifies the compassion and truthfulness that sets this movie apart from your run-of-the-mill maritime action thriller (and that it very well may be the reason Tom Hanks wins an Oscar).

Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.

That powerful last scene had its work cut out for it in my case, because by the time it rolled around, I was starting to lose patience with Captain Phillips, the second half of which takes place almost entirely in a claustrophobic enclosed lifeboat. Greengrass has an impressive gift for creating tension with his trademark documentary-style shaky camera (here wielded by frequent Greengrass collaborator Barry Ackroyd), but he’s not always so great at diffusing that tension, or modulating its rhythms over the course of a film (which is part of why I sat through his 9/11 re-creation, United 93 , with an uneasy combination of anguish and boredom). That second hour in the lifeboat, suspenseful as it is, makes for a long stretch of uninterrupted intensity, especially when filmed in Greengrass’ jolting quick-cut style. It’s effective on a visceral level, but so unvaryingly clamorous and chaotic that I, for one, found myself at times as eager to get out of the movie as Captain Phillips was to get off the boat.

The first hour is much more effectively paced, even if there’s something off about the opening scene, in which Phillips and his wife (Catherine Keener) have a curiously programmatic chat about the economically unstable world their children are growing up into. The thematic import of that conversation becomes clear in the next scene, as a group of desperate young Somali fishermen haggle with a warlord for a place on the crew of the next pirate expedition he’s sending out. In addition to being an action-adventure about captors and hostages, Captain Phillips is a tragedy about the ruinous consequences of global capitalism. The would-be pirates may have it unimaginably worse than the middle-class Phillipses, but everyone we see onscreen is just a working man doing what he feels he has to do to get by. (And given that Keener’s character disappears after that first scene, never to be replaced by another female face, I do mean “he.”)

Once the pirates have boarded the Alabama , though—in a staggering David-and-Goliath raid in which four scrawny Somalis in a broken-down skiff manage to breach the defenses of a massive American cargo ship on full alert—you’ll be too busy trying to catch a breath to pick up much political subtext. The head of the pirate crew is the hotheaded, acutely status-conscious Muse (unforgettably embodied by Barkhad Abdi, who was recruited from the Somali community of Minneapolis for his first film role). Captain Phillips, on the other hand, is a seasoned leader under pressure, a fact Greengrass establishes with an admirably light touch—no sentimental heroics here, just brisk pragmatism. He manages to warn most of his crew in time for them to hide in the engine room, where he communicates with them by walkie-talkie from the bridge as he negotiates with the hijackers. In an agonizingly intense scene, the frightened, squabbling pirates force Phillips to take them on a tour of the ship, slowly zeroing in on the place we know the entire crew is hiding.

Eventually Phillips persuades the pirates to leave on a lifeboat with the $30,000 from the ship’s safe. But the Somalis take him hostage, resulting in an international incident that will entail the parachuting in of Navy SEALs. Although the pace flags as described above while we’re waiting for the SEALS to arrive, the eventual rescue operation is staged with great skill and tension (and even, rare for Greengrass, the occasional stationary establishing shot). The scenes in which the hijackers meet their various fates—I won’t spoil them if you don’t remember the story, but none are pleasant—have something of the feel of the raid on the Bin Laden compound in Zero Dark Thirty , a taste of bitter, ambivalent victory. And then comes that transcendent last scene, in which the man whose side we’ve barely left during this incredible ordeal is suddenly revealed as the best kind of hero, not super at all but ordinary and vulnerable and human.

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Captain Phillips Reviews

Hanks, already an Academy Award winner, once again gave a masterful performance as the captain taking responsibility for his ship and crew.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 22, 2024

Rather than villainize one side while valorizing the other ... bring out the humanity in virtually all the central characters, pulling back on the expected gallantry typical of such a dramatization to reveal something human underneath ...

Full Review | Jul 19, 2024

Hanks is the casting coup here, and anchors (forgive the pun) the film with the sense of a normal, modest everyman who is in over his head.

Full Review | Sep 14, 2023

Greengrass puts you through the trauma and leaves you almost as shaken as the film’s protagonist when it's over.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 22, 2022

This story seems perfect for the conventional Hollywood big budget treatment. But to my surprise “Captain Phillips” steers clear of those trappings.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 19, 2022

Time has been kind to this meat-and-potatoes film, for quality never goes out of style.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 17, 2022

Captain Phillips is a great adult orientated thriller that has a wonderful sense of tension and a career best Tom Hanks performance. You owe it to yourself to see this.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5 | Mar 17, 2021

The film is a technical chef-d'oeuvre. It's a study on the misanthropy of international piracy. It's a film that's far more evocative and thought-provoking than its name suggests.

Full Review | Feb 16, 2021

A terrifically tense thriller that is worth the price of a full seat, even though you'll only use the edge.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 31, 2021

Features exceptional performances, led by veteran actor Tom Hanks.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 3, 2020

Newcomer Barkhad Abdi, a Somali with no previous acting experience who beautifully captures both the desperate menace and the thoughtful humanity.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 4, 2020

Even though the ending is well known, the suspense is tangible, made through expert craftsmanship and authentic acting.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jul 23, 2020

Tom Hanks puts on one of the best performances of his career in Captain Phillips...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 8, 2020

Paul Greengrass assimilates the dramatic events of Captain Phillips, teaching us how modern pirates operate in these times with outstanding cinematic execution. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 25, 2020

There's too much waiting and overly dramatic reflection. But the film does finish with a thrilling flourish, and the details of the cat and mouse games at sea are quite riveting.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 11, 2020

Nothing feels false and in its final 30 minutes Captain Phillips is damned near perfect.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.2/5 | Nov 21, 2019

Sadly, thanks to the Dutch film A Hijacking, which "coincidentally" hit DVD this week, Captain Phillips isn't even the best "hijacked by Somali pirates" movie in the last 6 months.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Aug 27, 2019

Mainstream films this good deserve to be celebrated, because they don't come along nearly as often as they should.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 9, 2019

It's a compelling, ripped-from-the-headlines drama that offers plenty of tension -- even if you are familiar with the story.

Full Review | Apr 9, 2019

The Navy SEALS procedural is a bit of a jumble even as it comfortingly demonstrates American competence in the face of a standoff. Still, it's the captain's passion that gives the movie its emotional intensity.

Full Review | Feb 22, 2019

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Movie Reviews

'captain phillips' review and why boston's accent isn't easy.

Captain Phillips , starring Tom Hanks, is based on a real-life case of a freighter overtaken by Somali pirates in 2009. You might know the story, but critic Kenneth Turan says this film will exceed your expectations. Plus, Morning Edition investigates what it takes to have a convincing Boston accent.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Lighting in the “Captain Phillips” Film Essay (Movie Review)

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Lighting is an important aspect of cinematography because using lighting techniques. Filmmakers can produce specific effects, accentuate significant objects and figures, create a certain mood, and add to the plot and atmosphere of the film (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 102). Captain Phillips is an American film based on the real events that were directed by Paul Greengrass and released in 2013. The film tells the true story about Captain Richard Phillips starred by Tom Hanks, whose Maersk Alabama ship was hijacked by the Somali pirates in 2009 ( Captain Philips , 2013). The scenes of the film mainly represent the situations on Maersk Alabama ship, and they are focused on the interaction between Captain Phillips and the Somali pirates; thus, the light is used extensively to reflect the tension of the relations, accentuate moods and atmospheres, and highlight objects and phenomena important to understand the director’s vision and idea.

Lighting in the first scenes of the film is used to demonstrate the contrast between the life of Captain Phillips and his wife Andrea and the life of many people in Somalia. The fill light technology is used to represent the peaceful life of Captain Phillips in his home. The light is soft, and it seems to be natural. The light that is used to represent the Somali pirates preparing for the attack is also natural, but the focus is on contrasts between the light background and darkened figures in the foreground ( Captain Philips , 2013). There are no directional lights on the actors, and the characters are perceived as the natural parts of the environment (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 108). This technique is similar to silhouetting, and it is used throughout the film to create a tense atmosphere and add to the naturalism of the scenes because of the focus on changes in the daylight.

The other important scene to be discussed in terms of the use of lighting is the attack of the Maersk Alabama ship by the Somali pirates. This scene represents the fringe between the peaceful voyage of the ship and the further sufferings of Captain Phillips. The fill light is used to imitate the daylight (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 104). Much attention is paid to the soft front light and bright backlight. As a result, the shadow areas are large, and the actors’ faces are highlighted only when there are close-ups (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 154). The technique creates the effect of the audience’s presence on board when the shadows change according to the changes of daylight, and a person can see only those objects that are directly in front of him or her.

This technique adds to the plot, and it is used to demonstrate the shock of Captain Phillips being attacked by several Somali pirates led by Abduwali Muse ( Captain Philips , 2013). If the bright light of the background creates contrasts to represent the situation on board, the other technique is used to demonstrate the behavior of the crew hiding in the ship’s engine room. The space in the engine room is limited, and minimal lighting with vivid light spots is used to accentuate the tense atmosphere and the rising fear of the crew (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 107). This lighting is warm, and the use of red tones in lighting contributes to creating an atmosphere of anxiety and terror.

However, the most striking use of lighting is characteristic of the scene of rescuing Captain Phillips. A range of lighting techniques is used to emphasize the variety of emotions felt by Captain Phillips, the Somali pirates, and by the members of the U.S. Navy SEAL team. Minimal lighting is used in a scene presenting Captain Phillips as a blindfold captive ( Captain Philips , 2013). The flashes of the orange light imitating the light of outside searchlights break the darkness of the place where the captive is held. These flashes are also important to accentuate the facial expressions of the Somali pirates and the sufferings of Captain Phillips. The absence of the direct lights on actors is effective in presenting the situation as life-and-death one and rather real (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 213). The used lighting does not highlight the figures of the characters and any objects presented in the room. As a result, the effect of unexpectedness and developing horror is created.

The shots representing the captive are combined with the shots representing the snipers and the U.S. Navy SEAL commander. The filmmakers use low-key lighting to represent the rescue team in the sea (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 134). The light of the searchlights is blinding, and it is in contrast with the dark background. To increase the contrast, the silhouettes of snipers are accentuated with the help of the deep blue light ( Captain Philips , 2013). This approach is strengthened while the figure of the U.S. Navy SEAL commander is presented. The light that is used to accentuate the U.S. Navy SEAL commander’s emotions and the reaction is bright blue, and it is in contrast with the pale blue color used in the final scene of the movie. From this point, the contrast in lighting effects and colors is one of the main techniques that are used to represent the tension of the climax scene of the film. Even though minimal lighting is present in this scene, the filmmakers use lighting accents of different color temperatures to accentuate terror, anxiety, tension, and risks. Bright flashes of the orange light used to represent the Somali pirates, and the captive is quickly changed with the representation of the darkened blue silhouettes and then with the focus on blinding searchlights ( Captain Philips , 2013). These changes in lighting add to creating a tight atmosphere that is important to represent the climax of the film.

The ending scene of examining Captain Phillips by the medical workers of the U.S. Navy is presented in contrast to the previous one because of the change of lighting techniques. In this scene, the lighting is perceived in association with the soundtrack and the camera work. The main lighting in the scene is soft and diffused, and the background light is most important (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 123-124). As a result, the actors’ figures are highlighted from the background, and this technique adds to creating the effect of the captive’s confusion and his inability to react to the medical workers’ words in an appropriate manner ( Captain Philips , 2013). Nevertheless, the main focus on the face of Captain Phillips is preserved. In this case, lighting should be discussed in association with the camera work because close-ups presented in the pale blue light are important to accentuate the character’s complex emotions, his sufferings, and shock (Malkiewicz, 2012, p. 154). The character’s disorientation as a result of the shock is emphasized with the focus on the active change of angles and the contrast between the light and shadow associated with the natural movements of the medical workers. The changes in the light and shadow are reflected in the music associated with the scene. As a result, the scene seems to be very natural and illustrative to speak about the emotions of the person who survived in the life-and-death situation.

Having analyzed the lighting techniques used in Captain Philips (2013), it is possible to state that the light is effectively and masterly used to add a certain meaning, emotion, or atmosphere to the scenes. The filmmakers were focused on the use of different lighting techniques to demonstrate characters in natural environments and with real emotions. It is also important to note that the light and the music create the unity in the film to make the picture full, true, and vivid, as it is represented in the final scene of the film. The use of contrasts in lighting plays the other role that is the creation of the tense atmosphere of the life-and-death situation in which Captain Philips is presented as not a hero, but as a real brave man whose emotions are true. From this point, lighting is actively used in the film to support the variety of tasks set by the filmmakers who concentrated on making the story both real and thrilling.

Captain Philips . (2013). Web.

Malkiewicz, K. (2012). Film lighting: Talks with Hollywood’s cinematographers and gaffer . San Francisco: Simon and Schuster.

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IvyPanda. (2020, June 27). Lighting in the "Captain Phillips" Film. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lighting-in-the-captain-phillips-film/

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1. IvyPanda . "Lighting in the "Captain Phillips" Film." June 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lighting-in-the-captain-phillips-film/.

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IvyPanda . "Lighting in the "Captain Phillips" Film." June 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/lighting-in-the-captain-phillips-film/.

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Captain Phillips

• The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
• Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. — Sony Pictures Entertainment
• When a cargo freighter passes just outside Somalian waters, some men in a motorboat approach the freighter and start shooting at it. The Captain, Richard Phillips deduces they're pirates so he tries to keep them off the ship but fails. They come on board so Phillips instructs the crew to hide. The pirates go to the bridge and tell Phillips they want money and when Phillips offers what they have which is about $30,000, the leader has his mind set on getting millions. He plans to take the crew hostage and hold them for ransom. But since they are hiding he goes off to find them. Eventually the crew captures the leader. His companions who have Phillips, demand they be allowed to go in the lifeboat. They let them but they keep Phillips. They try to go to Somalia but the U.S. Navy arrives and tries to stop them even if it means losing Phillips. — [email protected]
• Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) and his crew are carrying freight around the Horn of Africa when four Somali pirates forcefully take over their ship, the MV Maersk Alabama. While Phillips' team follow his orders to hide until they hear him give the safe word, the captain and a few essential crew members remain on the bridge as the heavily armed pirates make their way up to seize control of the ship. But the interlopers soon discover something that sends them into a furious rage: After effectively shutting down the ship, Phillips explains that the Maersk had malfunctioned when the crew pushed it too hard in an attempt to evade the attackers. In order to appease their leader, the ruthless Muse (Barkhad Abdi), Phillips offers them the $30,000 that's been locked in the ship safe. But that isn't enough, and Muse demands that Phillips help him search every corner of the ship to root out the terrified crew. When that plan fails, the pirates agree to take the cash from the safe and flee in the Maersk's lifeboat. At the last minute, however, they kidnap Phillips in the hope of supplementing their take with a sizable ransom -- a decision that leads to a tense standoff with the U.S. Navy, who would sooner see the lifeboat sunk with Phillips inside than allow it to reach Somalia..
• Assigned the dangerous task of taking the unarmed container ship, Maersk Alabama, from Oman to Mombasa, Kenya, the American navigator, Richard Phillips , and his crew see their worst fear come true, in 2009. Off the coast of Somalia--for the first time in maritime history--an opportunistic gang of armed-to-the-teeth Somali pirates seize the American vessel, demanding millions as ransom, dragging Alabama's men, the brazen pirates, and the U.S. Navy in a five-day cat-and-mouse game. As the Navy SEALs of the USS Bainbridge are on standby, Captain Phillips' ship approaches Somalia. Will they get out of there alive? — Nick Riganas
• On Mar 28th, 2009, Richard Phillips lives in Underhill, Vermont. He is married to Andrea (Catherine Keener). They have 2 kids Dan (John Magaro) and Mariah (Gigi Raines). Richard reaches Oman to take command of his ship. Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus) is the first officer, Mike Perry (David Warshofsky) the chief engineer, Ken Quinn (Corey Johnson), helmsman, and crew members John Cronan (Chris Mulkey), William Rios (Mark Holden), Ian Waller (Angus MacInnes), Ethan Stoll (Louis Mahoney) and Andrew (Vincenzo Nicoli). Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed container ship from Port of Salalah in Oman, with orders to sail through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, round the Horn of Africa. The ship is carrying 2400 tons of commercial cargo and 200 tons of food aid, 166 tons of freshwater, 250 metric tons of fuel loaded. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, the captain orders strict security precautions on the vessel and carries out practice drills. All orders all the pirate cages and the door to be properly locked. Somalian pirates are based in the village of Eyl. Pirate Muse is ordered into the sea by his boss, a local Somali faction leader. His gang includes Hufan (Ibrahim Maalim), Assad (Mohamed Ali), Adan Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), Walid Elmi (Mahat M. Ali) and Nour Najee. The pirates use a natural stimulant called Khat to maintain their high energy levels and desire to put themselves into danger. Most ships travel across the Somalian basin in a protected convoy, but Muse notices that the Alabama is travelling alone. During a drill, the vessel is chased by Somali pirates in two skiffs; Phillips succeeds in outrunning them when one gives up after hearing Phillips on the radio calling for immediate military air support (a bluff) and the other loses engine power after running into the rough water Captain Phillips created with his ship's propellers. The skiffs retreat to their mother ship. Muse is livid and orders a ladder to be welded together and the engine to be fixed before the following morning. Back on the Alabama the crew knows that the pirates will return and are afraid. Most of them say that they don't get paid enough for the risks of the job. Richard counters that this is what they signed up for on the Somalian Basin route. He promises to follow the union rules and offload unwilling crew at Mombasa, but before that, there is nothing that can be done. The next day one of the skiffs returns with four heavily armed pirates led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi); they are carrying a ladder they had hastily welded the night before. Despite the best efforts of Phillips and his crew, the pirates board and take control of the Maersk Alabama, capturing Captain Phillips (he was in the bridge) after he cuts the ship's engine power and tells the crew to hide in the ship's engine room. Phillips offers Muse the contents of the ship's safe ($30,000), but under orders from his boss Muse's plan is to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for millions of dollars of insurance money from the shipping company. Muse is livid when he cannot get the ship underway, and he demands that Richard produces the ship's crew to follow Muse's commands. Muse guesses that the crew is hiding in the engine room and controlling the ship from there. Shane manages to cut the ship's emergency power, plunging the lower decks into darkness. As Muse, the pirate captain, attempts to search the engine room, the crew members overpower him. The Alabama crew negotiates with the other three pirates on the bridge via radio. Richard is also on the bridge with Bilal who has badly injured feet (he cut his feet on glass shards planted by the crew intentionally as they knew that the pirates are bare foot). Richard talks to Muse and offers him the ship's lifeboat, since the pirates don't have their skiff anymore, along with $30,000 in the ship's safe. The crewmen arrange to trade Phillips for Muse and the ship's lifeboat for the pirates to escape. But the pirates take Muse & force Phillips onto the lifeboat and launch it, intending to hold the captain for ransom. As the lifeboat heads for the shore, tensions flare between the pirates as they run low on the stimulant herb Khat, lose contact with their mother ship, and are later intercepted by the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge. Richard uses the first aid kit to treat Bilal's foot. Muse is under orders from the faction leader to bring Richard as he is their only card to earn some money after the botched ship hijacking. Muse reveals that he hijacked a Greek ship last year and earned $6 million. In the meantime, the Bainbridge's captain Frank Castellano (Yul Vazquez) is ordered to prevent the pirates from reaching the mainland by whatever means necessary. This means that Richard is dispensable if there is a chance of him reaching the mainland. Castellano sends food and supplies to the lifeboat and asks for proof of Richard's life. Muse produces Richard, who tells Castellano that he is in seat 15. Richard knows that the US Navy is not there to negotiate. Najee is not happy with the way Muse is leading the negotiations and wants to act tough. Muse demands $10 million for Richard's release. Once additional U.S. Navy ships arrive (The USS Boxer and the USS Haliburton), Phillips attempts to negotiate with Muse, who asserts that he has come too far and will not surrender. Richard says that the Navy will sink the lifeboat rather than let it reach Somalia. That night, Phillips is able to escape and swims towards the Navy ships. The navy cannot identify the swimmer as Phillips, and therefore they take no action. The pirates fire shots at him; he swims back to the lifeboat. The further agitated pirates are also unaware that a SEAL Team has parachuted in to intervene. Muse stops Najee from killing Richard. A SEAL helicopter buzzes the lifeboat, pushing the pirates into a state of panic. Muse holds Richard at gun point and displays him to the helicopter, to get them to withdraw. While three SEAL marksmen get into positions to fire a simultaneous shot at each of the pirates on the lifeboat, Castellano and the SEALs continue to try to negotiate with the pirates, eventually taking the lifeboat under tow. Castellano says the elders of Muse's tribe are also on board to help with the exchange. Eventually, Muse agrees to board the Bainbridge, believing he will join his clan elders in negotiating Phillips's ransom. In the lifeboat, one of the more agitated pirates, Najee (Faysal Ahmed), catches Phillips writing a goodbye note to his wife. When he tries to take the note away, Phillips attacks Najee, but is quickly restrained and beaten. Najee decides to take full control; the pirates tie Phillips up and blindfold him, and the Bainbridge crew stop the tow. As Phillips is about to be executed, the three SEAL marksmen finally get three clear shots and simultaneously kill the pirates. On board the Bainbridge, Muse is taken into custody and arrested for piracy. Phillips is rescued and treated. He is in shock and disoriented, but he thanks the rescue team for saving his life. Richard returned to his family on April 17th, while Muse was convicted of piracy and is serving a 33 year prison sentence in Indiana.

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