Watching the Source Code trailer you may, like I did the first time I watched it, immediately say to yourself, “What the hell is this? Is this a remake of Tony Scott’s Deja Vu with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Denzel?” If left unchecked, that reaction could potentially lead to some rude comments to oneself regarding nepotism—director Duncan Jones is the son of pop music legend David Bowie—and if one is not careful, one could potentially post those rude comments on a social networking site. (Note: this is, sadly, exactly what happened to me when I first saw this trailer the other day). I caught myself before I did or said anything too stupid, though, and decided to give it another watch this fine Sunday morning.
I’m glad I did. Jones, whose directorial debut Moon was some fine science fiction filmmaking indeed, has graduated to what appears to be a slightly larger budget, and what is definitely a larger cast. (Moon was basically just Sam Rockwell.) And, while there are certainly elements familiar from other SF movies (Jeffrey Wright, in particular, seems to be having fun getting his Morpheus on) there’s something I can’t quite pinpoint in the Source Code trailer, that foretells a particularly intense and gripping story. It’s something to do with Jake Gyllenhaal’s acting, and Michelle Monaghan not being a total Barbie doll (she’s been quite good in everything I’ve ever seen her do). Perhaps it’s that, like Moon, Source Code looks like it will play with SF convention and come up with something new and compelling.
Last, while this is something I’m sure Jones tires of hearing in everything everyone ever writes about him, his dad has been LARPing as a Martian since 1972; having such easy access to such a profoundly science-fictiony entity cannot help but enrich Jones’ feel for the genre. Next April 15th we shall see, but this trailer certainly is intriguing if you let it into your brain. Hopefully the actual movie measures up to Jones’ talent and potential.
Danny Bowes is a playwright, filmmaker and blogger. He is also a contributor to nytheatre.com and Premiere.com.
