''Captain Phillips'' is a 2013 American
biographical action-thriller film directed by
Paul Greengrass. Based on the 2009
''Maersk Alabama'' hijacking, the film tells the story of
Captain Richard Phillips, an American
merchant mariner who was taken hostage by
Somali pirates. It stars
Tom Hanks as Phillips, alongside
Barkhad Abdi as pirate leader
Abduwali Muse
Abduwali Abdulkadir Muse (born 1990) is a Somali Piracy off the coast of Somalia, pirate. He is the sole survivor of four pirates who Maersk Alabama hijacking, hijacked the in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips (merchant mariner) ...
.
The screenplay by
Billy Ray is based on Phillips's 2010 book ''
A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea'', which Phillips co-wrote with
Stephan Talty.
Scott Rudin,
Dana Brunetti and
Michael De Luca
Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. He is also the former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks. De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Aw ...
served as producers on the project. It premiered at the
2013 New York Film Festival, and was theatrically released on October 11, 2013. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success, receiving acclaim from critics and grossing $218 million against a budget of $55 million. ''Captain Phillips'' received six
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominations, including
Best Picture,
Best Adapted Screenplay and
Best Supporting Actor for Abdi.
Plot
Richard Phillips takes command of
MV ''Maersk Alabama'', an unarmed
container vessel from the
Port of Salalah in
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, with orders to sail through the
Guardafui Channel to
Mombasa, Kenya. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, he and First Officer
Shane Murphy order strict security precautions on the vessel and carry out a practice drill. During the drill, the captain notices that the vessel is being followed by Somali pirates in two
skiffs, and calls for help. Knowing that the pirates are listening to radio traffic, he pretends to call a warship, requesting immediate air support. One skiff turns around in response, and the other – crewed by four armed pirates led by
Abduwali Muse
Abduwali Abdulkadir Muse (born 1990) is a Somali Piracy off the coast of Somalia, pirate. He is the sole survivor of four pirates who Maersk Alabama hijacking, hijacked the in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips (merchant mariner) ...
– loses engine power trying to steer through ''Maersk Alabama''s wake.
The next day, Muse's skiff, now fitted with two outboard engines, returns with the same four pirates aboard. Despite the efforts of Phillips and his crew, the pirates secure their ladder to the ship. As they board, Phillips tells the crew to hide in the engine room, just before the pirates storm the bridge and hold Phillips and the other crew members at gunpoint. Phillips offers Muse the $30,000 in the ship's safe, but Muse's orders are to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for millions of dollars of insurance money from the shipping company. While they search the ship, Shane sees that the youngest pirate Bilal does not have sandals and tells the crew to line the engine room hallway with broken glass.
Chief Engineer Mike Perry deactivates the power to the ship, plunging the lower decks into darkness. Bilal cuts his feet when they reach the engine room, and Muse continues to search alone. The crew members ambush Muse, holding him at knifepoint, and arrange to release him and the other pirates into a
lifeboat. However, Muse's right-hand man Nour Najee refuses to board the lifeboat with Muse unless Phillips goes with them. Once all are on the lifeboat, Najee attacks Phillips, forcing him into the vessel before launching the boat with all five of them on board.
As the lifeboat heads for Somalia, tensions flare between the pirates as they run low on the plant-based amphetamine
khat that they have been chewing, and they lose contact with their
mother ship
A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...
. Najee becomes agitated and begins to question Muse’s leadership when they are intercepted by the
U.S. Navy destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
. ''Bainbridge''s captain
Frank Castellano is ordered to prevent the pirates from reaching the Somali coast by any means. Even when additional ships arrive, Muse asserts that he has come too far and will not surrender. The negotiators are unable to change his mind, and a team from
DEVGRU parachutes in to intervene, while Phillips attempts to escape from the lifeboat before being quickly recaptured and repeatedly beaten by Najee.
While three DEVGRU marksmen get into positions, Castellano and DEVGRU continue to try to find a peaceful solution, eventually taking the lifeboat under tow. Muse agrees to board ''Bainbridge'', where he is told that his clan elders are arriving to negotiate Phillips's ransom. In the lifeboat, Phillips prepares a goodbye letter to his wife in case he is killed, while Najee decides to take full control. Najee spots Phillips writing the letter and snatches it. Phillips attacks Najee until Bilal subdues him by striking him in the back with his gun.
The pirates tie up and blindfold Phillips, and Najee beats him further. As Najee prepares to shoot Phillips, ''Bainbridge''s crew stops the tow, causing Elmi, Bilal, and Najee to lose balance. This gives the marksmen three clear shots, with which they simultaneously kill all three pirates. Muse is arrested and taken into custody for piracy. Phillips is rescued from the lifeboat and his injuries are treated. Although in shock and tears, he thanks the rescue team for saving his life.
Cast
''Maersk Alabama '' crew and allies
*
Tom Hanks as
Richard "Rich" Phillips / "Irish",
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
*
Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips, Phillips's wife
*
Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy,
first officer
*
David Warshofsky as Mike Perry,
chief engineer
*
Corey Johnson as Ken Quinn,
helmsman
A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...
*
Chris Mulkey as John Cronan, senior crew member
*
Mark Holden as William Rios, boatswain
*
Angus MacInnes as Ian Waller, crew member
*
Louis Mahoney
Louis Felix Danner Mahoney (; 8 September 1938 – 28 June 2020) was a Gambian-born United Kingdom, British actor, based in Hampstead in London. He was an anti-racist activist and long-time campaigner for racial equality within the acting profes ...
as Ethan Stoll, crew member
*
Vincenzo Nicoli
Vincenzo Nicoli (born 27 July 1958) is a British actor who appears in film, television and theatre. He is best known for roles in blockbuster films, such as Alan Jude in the 1992 science fiction film '' Alien³'' (1992), Enrico Biscaglia in the ...
as Andrew Brezinski, crew member
*
Maria Dizzia as Allison McColl
*
John Magaro
John Robert Magaro (born February 16, 1983) is an American actor. He has acted in the films '' Not Fade Away'' (2012), '' The Big Short'' (2015), '' Carol'' (2015), ''Overlord'' (2018), '' First Cow'' (2019), '' Showing Up'' (2022), ''The Mistre ...
as Dan Phillips
* Gigi Raines as Mariah Phillips
*
Riann Steele as Bernetti, US Maritime
Pirates and allies
*
Barkhad Abdi as
Abduwali Muse
Abduwali Abdulkadir Muse (born 1990) is a Somali Piracy off the coast of Somalia, pirate. He is the sole survivor of four pirates who Maersk Alabama hijacking, hijacked the in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips (merchant mariner) ...
, pirate leader
* Barkhad Abdirahman as Adan Bilal
*
Faysal Ahmed as Nour Najee
* Mahat M. Ali as Walid Elmi
* Mohamed Ali as Assad
* Ibrahim Maalim as Hufan
* Idurus Shiish as Idurus
* Azeez Mohammed as Dawoud
* Nasir Jamas as Eko
US Navy and allies
*
Yul Vazquez as
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
Frank Castellano, commanding officer,
USS ''Bainbridge''
*
Max Martini as
DEVGRU commander
*
Omar Berdouni as Nemo, Somali-language translator working for the U.S. Navy as part of
Mission Essential
*
Hospital Corpsman Second Class Danielle Albert as
Chief Hospital Corpsman O'Brien
*
Fire Control Technician First Class (
SW) Nathan Cobler as Hospital Corpsman First Class Cobler
Production
Development
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
optioned the film rights for Richard Phillips' story in May 2009, just weeks after his rescue from the Somali pirates. A year later in April 2010, Phillips' memoir, ''
A Captain's Duty'', was published. In March 2011, actor
Tom Hanks attached himself to the project after reading a draft of the screenplay by
Billy Ray. Director
Paul Greengrass was offered the helm of the untitled film adaptation during the following June.
A worldwide search subsequently began to find the film's supporting Somali cast. From this search, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali were chosen from among more than 700 participants at a 2011
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...
call at the Brian Coyle Community Center in
Cedar-Riverside,
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. The four actors were selected, according to search casting director Debbie DeLisi, because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out."
Producers visited the
National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum to see the bullet-scarred, five-ton fiberglass lifeboat aboard which the pirates held Capt. Phillips hostage so that they could accurately re-create the boat and interiors for the set. They were also able to view an example of the
Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAV used to monitor the crisis, as well as the
Mark 11 Mod 0 (SR-25) sniper rifle (the type used by the U.S. Navy SEALs), both also on display at the museum.
Filming
Principal photography for ''Captain Phillips'' began on March 26, 2012. Filming took place off the coast of
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. Nine weeks were spent filming aboard ''Alexander Maersk'', a
container ship identical to ''Maersk Alabama.'' The container vessel was chartered on commercial terms with
Maersk Line. , an and
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
of USS ''Bainbridge'', served as a set piece in the film.
Music
The
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
to ''Captain Phillips'' was composed by
Henry Jackman. A soundtrack album for the film was released in physical forms on October 15, 2013 by
Varèse Sarabande. Additional songs featured in the film include:
* "Up in Here" by
KOVAS
Kovasciar Myvette (born August 1, 1985), known professionally as KOVAS, is an American songwriter, record producer, music composer, and recording artist of Spanish and French descent (Central America and Morocco).
Career
He has produced an ...
* "Hilm B Hilm" by Musa Hanhan
* "
Wonderful Tonight" by
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
* "The End" by
John Powell, a track from Greengrass's 2006 film ''
United 93''
Release
Theatrical
''Captain Phillips'' premiered on September 20, 2013, opening the 2013
New York Film Festival. The film was praised for its direction, screenplay, production values, cinematography, and the performances of
Tom Hanks and
Barkhad Abdi.
Home media
''Captain Phillips'' was released on
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
and
DVD on January 21, 2014.
Reception
Box office
''Captain Phillips'' grossed $107.1 million in North America and $111.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $218.8 million, against its budget of $55 million.
In the United States, the film grossed $25.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing second place at the box office behind ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
'' ($43.2 million).
It made $16.4 million in its second weekend, remaining in second.
The film was unable to secure a release in China, which caused Sony Pictures to be concerned about the profitability of the film.
Based on information revealed in the
Sony Pictures hack, the film made a net profit of $39 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 282 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Smart, powerfully acted, and incredibly intense, ''Captain Phillips'' offers filmgoers a Hollywood biopic done right — and offers Tom Hanks a showcase for yet another brilliant performance." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
[
The film was nominated for four ]Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
s, including Best Picture (Drama), Best Actor in a Drama (Hanks), Best Supporting Actor (Abdi) and Best Director (Greengrass).[ It did not win in any of the categories.][ The film was also nominated for nine British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), including Best Film, Best Direction (Greengrass), Best Actor (Hanks), Best Supporting Actor (Abdi), and Best Adapted Screenplay.][ Abdi won the film's only award for Best Supporting Actor.][ The film was also nominated for six ]Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
– Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Abdi), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing[ – though it did not win any of the categories.][
]
Film critic Top Ten lists
Various American critics have named the film as one of the best of 2013.
* 1st – Kenneth Turan, ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''
* 2nd – ''Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
''
* 3rd – Roger Moore, Movie Nation
* 4th – Rafer Guzmán, ''Newsday
''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
''
* 4th – Anne Thompson, '' Indiewire''
* 5th – Christopher Orr, ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
''
* 5th – Chris Nastawaty, ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''
* 5th – Matt Singer, '' The Dissolve''
* 5th – Christopher Rosen & Mike Ryan, ''Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
''
* 6th – Richard Roeper, ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
''
* 6th – Mara Reinstein, ''Us Weekly
''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...
''
* 6th – Randy Myers, ''San Jose Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
''
* 6th – Mick LaSalle, ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
''
* 7th – Richard Lawson, '' Vanity Fair''
* 7th – Peter Travers, ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''
* 7th – Joe Neumaier, ''New York Daily News
The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
''
* 8th – Sasha Stone, ''Awards Daily''
* 8th – Lisa Kennedy, '' Denver Post''
* 8th – Barbara Vancheri, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
''
* 9th – Genevieve Koski, '' The Dissolve''
* 9th – Mike Scott, '' The Times-Picayune''
* 9th – James Berardinelli, Reelviews
* Best of 2013 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – David Denby, ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''
* Best of 2013 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Manohla Dargis, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Accolades
Historical accuracy
Since the film's release, there has been controversy over its portrayal of Captain Richard Phillips, with several crew members claiming that he was not the hero presented in the film, according to lawsuits filed by more than half of the crew of the ''Maersk Alabama''. The crew members claim Phillips was at least partly at fault, along with the shipping company and the ship operator, for an "insistence on being fast and making money ... ettingthe Alabama within 250 miles of the Somali coast..." The lawsuit was reportedly settled before it went to trial.
Phillips told CNN's Drew Griffin in 2010 and in a court deposition in 2013 that he ignored the numerous warnings that urged him to go farther out to sea. When asked in 2013 why he decided not to take the ship farther offshore, Phillips testified, "I don't believe 600 miles would make you safe. I didn't believe 1,200 miles would make you safe. As I told the crew, it would be a matter of when, not if ... We were always in this area." Between 2009 and 2011, pirates from Somalia had attacked ships as far away as 1,000 and even 1,300 nautical miles.
Phillips's first mate Shane Murphy stated in an interview with '' Vulture'' published on October 13, 2013 that he was satisfied with how the movie portrayed both Phillips and himself, and stated that he was only disappointed that the film didn't show footage of the crews' families at home or the President's comments on the hijacking.
The film's director Paul Greengrass publicly stated that he "stands behind the authenticity of ''Captain Phillips''", despite complaints of inaccuracy with how the film portrays the events surrounding the hijacking, and "at the end of the day, it is easy to make anonymous accusations against a film. But the facts are clear. Captain Phillips's ship was attacked, and the ship and the crew and its cargo made it safely to port with no injuries or loss of life. That's the story we told, and it's an accurate one."
See also
* '' A Hijacking''
* '' Pirates of the 20th Century''
* Survival film
* List of films featuring the United States Navy SEALs
* List of films featuring drones
References
Informational notes
Citations
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captain Phillips
2013 films
2013 biographical drama films
2013 action thriller films
American action thriller films
American biographical films
BAFTA winners (films)
Columbia Pictures films
American docudrama films
Action films based on actual events
Drama films based on actual events
Somali-language films
Films scored by Henry Jackman
Films about ship hijackings
Films based on non-fiction books
Films directed by Paul Greengrass
Films produced by Michael De Luca
Films produced by Scott Rudin
Films set in 2009
Films set in the Indian Ocean
Films set in Oman
Films set in Somalia
Films set in Vermont
Films set in Kenya
Films shot in Malta
Films shot in Massachusetts
Films shot in Morocco
Films shot in Virginia
Films about hostage taking
IMAX films
Maersk
Piracy in Somalia
Pirate films
Films with screenplays by Billy Ray
Seafaring films based on actual events
Thriller films based on actual events
Films about United States Navy SEALs
2010s survival films
2013 drama films
Films set on ships
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language biographical drama films
English-language action thriller films
English-language adventure films