Source Code

Source Code Information

Source Code is a 2011 Franco-American science fiction techno-thriller film directed by Duncan Jones, written by Ben Ripley, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright. The film had its world premiere on March 11, 2011 at South by Southwest (SXSW), and was released by Summit Entertainment on April 1, in North America and Europe.

Source Code received positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $147 million worldwide.

Plot

Army helicopter pilot, Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), last aware of being on a mission in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train traveling to Chicago, at 7:10 am. He finds that 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 car explodes, killing everyone aboard.

Stevens regains consciousness inside an unfamiliar cockpit. Communicating through a video screen, Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) verifies Stevens' identity. She explains that Stevens is inside the "Source Code", an experimental device designed by scientist Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright). The Source Code allows its user to experience the last eight minutes of another compatible person's life within an alternative timeline.

Goodwin explains that Stevens' mission is to use Source Code to discover the location of a remotely-activated explosive device aboard the train and identify the person who activated it. Goodwin explains that the train explosion occurred just that morning and was merely a prelude to a larger dirty bomb that the perpetrator intends to set off in downtown Chicago in the next 6 hours. Stevens is unwillingly sent back into the Source Code again and again in frustrating, exhausting attempts to learn the bomber's identity and specific plan of action.

Some of his attempts include trying to warn the authorities on the train as well as trying to flee with Christina. During one of his run-throughs he learns that the train explosion occurred two months after an incident in Afghanistan which reportedly killed him. Once he discovers this, he demands more information from Goodwin. She explains that the remains of his body are in fact on life support at the Source Code facility while his mind is hooked up to a computer system, the cockpit being a projection uniquely his own to somehow cope with the utterly alien experience of a total brain-body disconnect. Angered to discover this, Stevens requests that his life support be terminated after the mission is completed, to which Dr. Rutledge agrees.

Stevens eventually identifies both the bomber, a young man, Derek Frost (Michael Arden), and the rented white van that he will use to carry the bomb into the center of Chicago. On his return, Stevens' information is successfully used by the military to capture Frost before he can trigger the bomb. Stevens is praised as a hero, but in private, Rutledge tells Goodwin to renege on the deal, and instead to wipe Stevens' memory so he can be used the next time there is such an incident. Stevens learns that the promise to him has been violated and convinces Goodwin to let him return to Source Code once more, after which she will disable his life support against Rutledge's orders.

Once back aboard the train, Stevens disarms the bomb, subdues Frost and handcuffs him to a handrail inside the train. Stevens calls the authorities to identify Frost and inform them of the location of the dirty bomb. He then calls his (alternate-timeline) estranged father under the guise of a fellow soldier, mending the emotional distance between them. Asking Christina what she would do if she knew that she only had seconds left to live, Stevens embraces her just as his last few seconds are presumably running out. As promised, at this exact moment, Goodwin disables his life-support and the scene reveals his physical body as being severely mutilated and comatose. Time seems to stop just then, but Stevens is surprised to find himself finishing the kiss, still aboard the train with Christina. He realizes that he will remain in the alternative timeline of the undamaged train. They arrive safely in Chicago, and he and Christina take a little stroll together and warmly discuss their future together.

Later that morning, the alternative-timeline Captain Goodwin arrives for work at Nellis Air Force Base and receives a text message that Stevens-Fentress had sent earlier, just as news is breaking of the failed attempt on the train just outside Chicago. The email explains that the Source Code effectively allows the user to change history within alternative timelines. Stevens' email ends with him proposing to Goodwin that when his alternative self in this timeline is used in a future Source Code mission, Goodwin should support him with a reassurance that "everything is gonna be okay."

Cast

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

Production

Pre-production

David Hahn, the boy depicted in the 2003 made-for-television documentary The Nuclear Boy Scout, was the inspiration for the antagonist Derek Frost. 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:

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."

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.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 1, 2010 in Montreal, Canada and ended on April 29, 2010. 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. There was also some filming at the Ottawa Train Station in Ottawa, Ontario.

Post-production

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

Release

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Budget	Reference
Film	United States	United States	International	Worldwide	All time United States	All time worldwide	Budget	Reference
Source Code	April 2011	$54,712,227	$92,620,470	$147,332,697	#1095	Unknown	$32,000,000

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. The film grossed $54,712,227 during its run with midnight screenings in 2,961 locations. Overall the film made $147,812,094 and debuted at #2 on its opening weekend.

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
Source Code	91% (230 reviews)	74/100 (41 reviews)

Source Code received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 91% "Certified Fresh" approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on an aggregation of 231 reviews and offers the consensus; "Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller." Metacritic has awarded the film an average score 74/100 based on 41 reviews. Critics have compared Source Code with the 1993 film Groundhog Day, or called it a "cross between Groundhog Day and Murder on the Orient Express." Arizona Republic film critic Bill Goodykoontz says comparing Source Code to Groundhog Day is doing a disservice to Source Code enthralling "mind game."

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "Confounding, exhilarating, challenging " and the best movie I've seen so far in 2011." 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." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called Ben Ripley's script "cleverly constructed" and a film "crisply directed by Duncan Jones", while also praising the "cast with the determination and ability to really sell its story." CNN called Ripley's script "ingenious" and the film "as authoritative an exercise in fractured storytelling as Christopher Nolan's Memento"; Gyllenhaal is "more compelling here than he's been in a long time." IGN gave it a 2.5/5, 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." Lumino Magazine reviewer Matt Kolthof loved the film, giving it a perfect four out of four stars, saying "Altogether the film holds itself strong with powerful performances, a productive storyline, and a suspense that leads to blazing, breakneck action and passionate romance." He also related to such films as Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as it had a '70s sci-fi feel to it, remarking "This movie really rejuvenates old time sci-fi films."

Accolades

Year	Group	Category	Recipient
2011	Scream Awards	Best Science Fiction Actor	Jake Gyllenhaal
2011	Bradbury Award	Bradbury Award	Ben Ripley & Duncan Jones
2012	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form	Ben Ripley & Duncan Jones

Home media

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

Possible television series

On January 4, 2012, it was revealed that a television series is in development to air on CBS with Mark Gordon and Steve Maeda as producers.