In “Captain Phillips” — a tense, hyper-realistic depiction of the terrifying hijacking of an American shipping vessel by desperate Somali pirates — Tom Hanks gives a powerful performance.
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Watch Tom Hanks, late in Paul Greengrass’ gripping thriller “Captain Phillips,” for perhaps the finest moments of acting in his distinguished career. As Richard Phillips, commanding officer of a container ship hijacked by Somali pirates, he undergoes an unthinkably terrifying ordeal; by its end he’s in shock, sobbing quietly from emotion long held in. Someone asks him his name; in a lesser movie, he might have squared his shoulders and replied, “Captain Phillips” as heroic music swelled. Instead, Hanks simply looks dazed, still trying to get his bearings in a world that turned into a nightmare and back again. “Rich,” he says simply; just a regular guy, not quite sure if he’s in a dream.