Source Code

Source Code
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Duncan Jones
Produced by	Mark Gordon Jordan Wynn Philippe Rousselet
Written by	Ben Ripley
Starring	Jake Gyllenhaal Michelle Monaghan Vera Farmiga
Music by	Chris P. Bacon
Cinematography	Don Burgess
Edited by	Paul Hirsch
Production company	The Mark Gordon Company Vendôme Pictures
Distributed by	Summit Entertainment
Release dates	March 11, 2011 (2011-03-11) (SXSW) April 1, 2011 (2011-04-01) (United States) April 20, 2011 (2011-04-20) (France[1])
Running time	93 minutes
Country	France[2] United States[2]
Language	English
Budget	$32 million[3]
Box office	$147.3 million[4]

Source Code is a 2011 French-American science fiction film directed by Duncan Jones, written by Ben Ripley, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga. The film had its world premiere on March 11, 2011 at South by Southwest,^[5] and was released by Summit Entertainment on April 1, 2011 in North America and Europe.

The film received acclaim from critics upon its release and became a box office success, grossing over $147 million worldwide.^[4][6] Plans for a television adaptation at CBS were announced shortly after the film was released. However, these plans were scrapped in December 2014 in favor of a film sequel. The sequel is in development with Mark Gordon returning to produce and Anna Foerster attached to direct.

Plot

U.S. Army pilot Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), last aware of being on a mission in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train^[7] to Chicago, at 7:40 am. To the world around him – including his traveling partner Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) and the bathroom mirror – he appears to be Sean Fentress, a school teacher. As he comes to grips with this revelation, the train explodes, killing everyone aboard.

Stevens regains consciousness inside a dingy dim cockpit, leaking oil. Communicating through a video screen, Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) verifies Stevens' identity, and insists he stay "on mission" to find the bomber before another larger "dirty bomb" hits downtown Chicago in six hours. Inside the "Source Code" experimental device designed by scientist Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), he experiences the last eight minutes of another compatible person's life within an alternative timeline.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Stevens is unwillingly sent back into the Source Code again and again in frustrating, exhausting attempts to learn the bomber's identity. He tries to warn authorities on the train and flee with Christina, escaping the explosion. Other times he cannot locate or disarm the bomb and dies on the train. But Rutledge insists the alternate timeline is not real. It is revealed that he has been "with them" for two months since being reported killed in action in Afghanistan. He is comatose and missing most of his body, hooked up to neural sensors. The cockpit capsule is in his imagination, his brain's way of making sense of a missing environment. A confused and frustrated Stevens asks, "As one soldier to another, am I dead?" Angry to learn that he is on life support, he asks to be disconnected after the mission. Rutledge agrees.

Stevens catches the bomber Derek Frost (Michael Arden), who leaves his wallet behind to fake his own death, and gets off at the last stop before Chicago. In one run-through, Frost kills both Fentress and Christina, and flees in a rented white van. Stevens remembers the license number and direction so the authorities can catch the terrorist. But Rutledge reneges, orders Goodwin to wipe Stevens' memory for a future mission. Stevens convinces Goodwin to allow one more try, to save everyone on the train, despite Rutledge's insistence that everyone on the train had already been killed in the explosion.

Stevens is sent back into the Source Code where he disarms the bomb, subdues Frost and handcuffs him to a handrail inside the train. He reports the bomber and the bomb to authorities, composes an email to Captain Goodwin, then calls to reconcile with his estranged father under the guise of a fellow soldier. He asks Christina what she would do if she knew that she only had seconds left to live, and starts to kiss her. At the same time, Goodwin approaches the air-tight chamber that contains the torso of Steven's comatose mutilated body, and disconnects the life support. Rutledge bangs on the outer door in vain. Surprisingly, Stevens finishes the kiss with Christina, revealing that the alternate timeline of the Source Code was indeed real, contrary to what was proposed by Rutledge. They continue on the train, and then walk around downtown Chicago facing the Cloud Gate.

Later that morning, the alternative-timeline Goodwin arrives for work at Nellis Air Force Base and receives the email from Stevens. While news breaks about the failed bomber on the Chicago train, he informs Goodwin that they have changed history, and Goodwin seemingly recalls something. He asks her to reassure this timeline's Stevens that "everything is gonna be okay."

Cast

• Jake Gyllenhaal as Capt. Colter Stevens / Sean Fentress
• Michelle Monaghan as Christina Warren
• Vera Farmiga as Capt. Colleen Goodwin
• Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge
• Michael Arden as Derek Frost
• Russell Peters as Max Denoff
• Scott Bakula as Donald Stevens, Colter's father (Voice cameo)
• Frédérick De Grandpré as Sean Fentress (Reflection)
• Cas Anvar as Hazmi

Production

Pre-production

David Hahn, the boy depicted in the 2003 made-for-television documentary The Nuclear Boy Scout,^[8] was the inspiration for the antagonist Derek Frost.^[9] In an article published by the Writers Guild of America, screenwriter Ben Ripley is described as providing the original pitch to the studios responsible for producing Source Code:^[10]

Ripley first came up with the idea for Source Code, in which government operative Colter Stevens repeatedly relives the eight minutes leading up to a terrorist train bombing in hopes of finding the bomber, he had no intention of writing it on spec. Having established himself in Hollywood largely doing "studio rewrites on horror movies," he felt a solid pitch would do the trick. Unfortunately, it didn't. "I sat down with a few producers, and the first couple just looked at me like I was nuts," confesses Ripley. "Ultimately, I had to put it on the page to make my case."

After seeing Moon, Gyllenhaal lobbied for Jones to direct Source Code; Jones liked the fast-paced script; as he later said: "There were all sorts of challenges and puzzles and I kind of like solving puzzles, so it was kind of fun for me to work out how to achieve all these difficult things that were set up in the script."^[11]

In the ending scene, Jake Gyllenhaal's and Michelle Monaghan's characters are seen walking through Millennium Park, and make their way to the Cloud Gate. In a 2011 interview, Gyllenhaal discussed how director Duncan Jones felt the structure was a metaphor for the movie's subject matter, and aimed for it to feature at the beginning and end of the movie.^[12]

Filming

Principal photography began on March 1, 2010, in Montreal, Quebec, and ended on April 29, 2010.^[13] Several scenes were shot in Chicago, Illinois, specifically at Millennium Park and the Main Building at the Illinois Institute of Technology, although the sign showing the name of the latter, in the intersection of 31st Street and S LaSalle Street, was edited out. Initially, some filming was scheduled at the Ottawa Train Station in Ottawa, Ontario,^[14] but cancelled for lack of an agreement with VIA Rail.^[15]

Post-production

Editing took place in Los Angeles. In July 2010, the film was in the visual effects stage of post-production.^[16] Most of the VFX work was handled by Montreal studios, including Modus FX, Rodeo FX, Oblique FX, and Fly Studio.^[17] Jones had confirmed that the film's soundtrack would be composed by Clint Mansell, in his second collaboration with the composer.^[18] However, it was later announced that Mansell would no longer score the movie's soundtrack due to time constraints.^[19]

Release

Box office performance

Source Code was released in theaters on April 1, 2011. In the United States and Canada, Source Code was released theatrically in 2,961 conventional theaters.^[20] The film grossed $54,712,227 during its run with midnight screenings in 2,961 locations.^[21] Overall the film made $147,812,094 and debuted at #2 on its opening weekend.^[20]

Critical reception

Source Code received acclaim from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 92% "Certified Fresh" approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on an aggregation of 243 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller."^[6] Metacritic awarded the film an average score of 74/100 based on 41 reviews.^[24] Critics have compared Source Code with both the 1993 film Groundhog Day,^[25][26][27] and British film director Tony Scott's 2006 time-altering science fiction film Déjà Vu: in the latter case, the similarity of plotline in the protagonist's determination to change the past was highlighted, and his emotional commitment to save the victim, rather than simply try to discover the identity of the perpetrator of the crime.^[28] Alternatively, it has been described as a "cross between Groundhog Day and Murder on the Orient Express,"^[29] while The Arizona Republic film critic Bill Goodykoontz says that comparing Source Code to Groundhog Day is doing a disservice to Source Code's enthralling "mind game."^[30]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film: "Confounding, exhilarating, challenging – and the best movie I've seen so far in 2011."^[6] Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "an ingenious thriller" where "you forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing."^[31] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called Ben Ripley's script "cleverly constructed" and a film "crisply directed by Duncan Jones." He also praised the "cast with the determination and ability to really sell its story."^[32] CNN called Ripley's script "ingenious" and the film "as authoritative an exercise in fractured storytelling as Christopher Nolan's Memento." He also commented that Gyllenhaal is "more compelling here than he's been in a long time."^[29] IGN gave it 2.5 stars out of 5, saying: "Gyllenhaal brings sincerity and warmth to his role, but his conviction only helps the movie so far before it ultimately buckles under the weight of its plot mechanics."

Accolades

Home media

Source Code was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc simultaneously in the US on July 26, 2011,^[36][37] with the UK release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (as well as a combined DVD/Blu-ray Disc package) on August 15, 2011.^[38] In the UK, there was also a DVD released featuring a 3D cover.

Sequel

A planned television series for the network CBS was announced in 2011,^[39] and was revealed to be in development on January 4, 2012, with Mark Gordon and Steve Maeda as producers.^[40] The planned television series was cancelled in December 2014 and, instead, it was announced that a film sequel is in development. The film will incorporate ideas originally intended for the television series.^[41]

See also

• List of films featuring time loops

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Source Code at the Internet Movie Database
• Source Code at AllMovie
• Source Code at Rotten Tomatoes
• Source Code at Metacritic
• Source Code at Box Office Mojo