The New York Film Festival can never be accused of favoritism towards a particular type of cinema. You'll find plenty of Oscar bait there, but you can also find opportunities to have some fun. The polar extremes of what the NYFF has to offer were on full display last week, when I endured the emotional rollercoaster double-feature of "Captain Phillips" and "Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa".
The day began with "Captain Phillips", the true story of a pirate attack on an American container ship in 2009. Tom Hanks stars as Captain Richard Phillips, a veteran merchant mariner tasked with helming a cargo vessel around the horn of Africa. Before he leaves his Vermont home, he expresses his concern to his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) about their son not taking school seriously enough. Off the boat, this is the man Phillips is: a typical family man. Once he boards the MV Maersk Alabama, he shifts into Captain mode, and it's all business until the voyage is complete.
Phillips sets sail from Salalah, Oman with a 20 man crew and about 2400 tons of cargo in tow. Meanwhile, in Eyl, Somalia, a different captain plots his own trip to sea. Muse (pronounced Moo-zey, played by Barkhad Abdi) has been selected to lead a band of pirates into the nearby waters to hijack passing vessels. With a greedy warlord for a boss, Muse knows a small haul won't do, and so he handpicks a crew to assist him in overtaking the Alabama. Armed with automatic weapons, the Somalian captain aims his skiff towards the American freighter. The rest is history.
As two captains on opposite ends of the economic tide, Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi each deliver powerful, visceral performances. Hanks has never been better as an ordinary man forced into an extraordinary circumstance. With his ship under siege and his crew in danger, Hanks masterfully demonstrates the bravery and humanity the real Captain Phillips was forced to express during his horrific ordeal. The Somalian-born Minnesota resident Abdi, making his acting debut here, more than holds his own opposite the veteran Hanks. Abdi delivers a surprisingly multilayered performance of a man shaped by his environment. He is the antagonist, but he is not compelled by evil. His reasons for entering piracy are the heart of "Captain Phillips", even if they are somewhat weakly conveyed.
Director Paul Greengrass deserves heaps of praise for his commitment to authenticity. "Captain Phillips" was filmed mostly at sea on actual ships resembling the real ones involved in the 2009 hijacking (one of the Navy ships in the film is the same exact boat). His documentary style of filmmaking, which relies heavily on handheld cameras, blends effortlessly into this pulse-pounding drama without becoming a distraction. This cinéma vérité approach turns "Captain Phillips" into one of the most realistic, tense movies of the year. There is a 45 minute stretch in the middle of the film that might be the most stressful time I've ever had at the movies.
By the time "Captain Phillips" was over, I was out of breath and my heart was racing. The hour long break between screenings did me well, as I was able to regain my bearings and refocus on my professional obligations. Still, I needed a mood lightener, and "Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa" was just that.
Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) is a fast-talking, self-involved radio DJ who never seems to take anything seriously. When his station is bought out by a youthful new media conglomerate, Partridge throws fellow DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) under the bus and suggests they fire him in order to save his own job. Farrell doesn't handle his sacking that well: he comes back with a shotgun, taking the workers hostage. Under the impression that Partridge is his friend, Farrell asks him to act as a go-between for him and the police that are surrounding the building. The perpetually jocular Partridge assumes the task, and soon finds that this hostage situation just might be the perfect thing to revitalize his career.
"Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa" is an absurd British comedy that sometimes crosses the line into madcap. There's a lot here that is really, really funny, but there's also a noticeable lack of heart at its core. The dialogue exchanges are quick and clever, but the whole movie just feels like an improv setting for Steve Coogan, who is admittedly terrific as the vain Partridge. There's no problem with the plot taking a back seat to the jokes, as long as the jokes are funny enough to sustain your attention. The humor of "Alan Partridge" can be a bit exhausting, but will give you plenty of chances to laugh. If only there was something more to this on an emotional level.
My enjoyment of "Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa" could stem from the fact after watching "Captain Phillips", I would have laughed at anything as long as it tried hard enough. To give it a little more credit than that, though, "Alan Partridge" features some really well-crafted gags and is just the right amount of silly.
