I saw Source Code last night at SXSW. It’s the second film by British director Duncan Jones (Moon) and penned by Ben Ripley who hasn’t written anything of real consequence of which I’m aware (Species 3 doesn’t count, right?). Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga make up the core cast in this action-thiller that felt like it was out of the 70s or 80s (but in a good way). It’s hard to write about a movie that is build on a secret that the audience doesn’t know without ruining it, so I’ll be vague while giving my impressions of this film.

Source Code is set primarily in 2 locations: a Chicago-bound train and a control room in an unknown military facility. Jake’s character exists in both settings, but the leading ladies are split – Michelle (the love interest) is on the train with Jake and Vera is the officer that is tasked with helping Jake with his “mission.” That mission is to find the person behind a terrorist plot by entering what seems to be a simulation of a terrible train explosion but the catch is that he only gets 8 minutes per attempt while he lives out the last 8 minutes of some poor guy’s life (in some sort of transfer of consciousness) on the train and each time he dies, his consciousness is pulled back to the military facility.

First and foremost, I think that Duncan did an amazing job creating a believable environment. The shots were well executed to not bore the audience with repetition (the film shows essentially the same scene on the train 8 or 9 times with minor variation and some very large variations on some “runs”). For example, the 3rd time the viewer is brought into the train, Michelle’s arm is up, behind her head. With lots of minor variation – even when larger deviations from the original shots are planned – helped create an enjoyable viewing experience.

The Acting was also perfectly executed. I believed that these people were going through the whole ordeal. Vera was completely off my radar until last night when I first saw her. She exuded talent in the film and I was really impressed with how well the cast gelled. The chemistry was most definitely there between Jake and Michelle and Jake did a great job with the serious role he was playing as well as some great bits of comedy that were written perfectly for the situation.

The science of the film was vague and I think (just as Ben Ripley explained in a post-screening Q&A) that when you strip off all the faux-science and just state that it just ‘works’ that the viewer actually accepts it. I know that the movie is an impossible story, but I wasn’t bothered by the situation or the technology that was integral to the story. What did bother me is that the writer thought that it was better to spell out the situation and wrap it up in a way that you really get closure, rather than trusting the viewer to put the pieces together.

Inception this was not. I’d place both Inception and Source Code in the same genre as they both focus on experiences within the mind and I liked that Christopher Nolan didn’t feel the need to resolve Inception by pulling back the curtain and revealing 100% of what was going on. Source Code had a moment, not more than 10 minutes from where the credits roll, that was a perfect place to stop – just like Inception – that would simultaneously enrage the audience and plant the question in everyone’s mind “was it this thing or that thing?”

All-in-all I give Source Code high marks for originality, Duncan’s story-telling ability, and acting. I have to take off points for the writer’s insistence to remove all doubt and spell out exactly what was going on the entire movie. While it’s not a movie that I’ll be snapping up on Blu-Ray when it comes out, I do recommend that if you’re at the movie theater after April 1st and you’re looking for a fun film to enjoy on a massive screen, you should go see Source Code.