Source Code (2011)

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Source Code is a 2011 action-thriller directed by Duncan Jones, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright.

Plot Summary

Captain Colter Stevens ( Gyllenhaal) wakes up in a train in an another man's body and discovers that he's a part of a mission to find the bomber of the train. He learns that he's a part of a secret government program entitled Source Code, which enables a person to step into a different mans body and relive 8 minutes of their life. A second attack is about to happen in downtown Chicago, therefore Stevens must relive the incident over and over again to gather clues of who is the bomber, so that he can prevent the next attack. In his struggle to stop the bomber he falls in love with Christina leading to some complications and questions about his existence.

Production

Gyllenhaal had discovered Ben Ripley's script and brought it to Jones' attention. Gyllenhaal had wanted to work with Jones ever since he first saw Moon, Jones' first feature film. Filming began on March 1st, 2010. The original script had the film set in New York, but it was eventually moved to Chicago due to worries about 9/11 sensitivities. All of the different source codes were shot chronologically so that they would build the characters as they repeat each timeline and it also helped with the continuity.

Release

Premiere

Jones, Monaghan, Gyllenhaal and Farmiga at the SXSW premiere

Source Code had its world premiere on March 12, 2011 at the South by Southwest film festival, in Austin, Texas, at the 1200 seat Paramount Theatre. Director Duncan Jones and actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga were in attendance at the premiere. They were also available at a question and answer session afterwards, which the writer, Ben Ripley, also appeared at.

The film had its New York premiere at the Crosby Street Hotel and was hosted by the Cinema Society. Jones, Gyllenhaal, Monaghan and Jeffrey Wright were present.

Soundtrack

Jones had confirmed that Clint Mansell would be composing the soundtrack for Source Code. However, due to time constraints, Mansell was unable to score the film and was replaced by Chris Bacon. The soundtrack was released on March 29, 2011.

Critical Reception

Commercial

During the first day of its wide release, April 1, 2011, Source Code grossed an estimated $5 million. It came in at second place, behind the other major film that was released the same day, Hop, which grossed $11.4 million. During it first weekend in the United States, Source Code opened at #2, behind Hop and ahead of Insidious.

Critical

Source Code was very well received with quite positive reviews. It currently holds a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, an average calculated out of 176 reviews. It holds a score of 85% among the Top Critics of Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times wrote " Here's a movie where you forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing." Manohla Dargis of New York Times wrote " In "Source Code," thinking is doing, which makes it a nice respite from standard action fare with its guys, grunts and guns (though there's some of that here too)." On Metacritic the film holds a score of 73 based on 39 review, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".