Source Code

Source Code – Fiction or a View of the Future?

Deciphering the Code so you don't have to.

As you’d expect from a piece that discusses the content of a film, there are a few spoilers about Source Code so be warned if you haven’t seen it yet.

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal and helmed by Duncan ‘Zowie Bowie’ Jones was released in the usually terrible month of April, yet was particularly well received by critics, achieving 91% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Sourcing (apologies) inspiration from a number of other films like Groundhog Day and Speed, Source Code goes on to introduce a number of interesting plot devices, some that we shall probably see horribly rehashed in future films.

The initial premise is fairly basic stuff – man must stop bomb on train and save the girl. A speeding train and an impending giant explosion normally gets the public onto cinema seats. Then all of a sudden the train blows up, with opening credits barely faded from the screen.

Jack Gyllenhaal wakes up from the explosion in an unfamiliar cockpit, with Vera Farmiga on a screen telling him that mad scientist Jeffrey Wright has created an experimental device called ‘source code’, allowing a user to experience the last eight minutes of a person’s life in an alternate reality. Here, the military are using it to find the identity of a train bomber.

So, interesting plot device number one. How close to reality is this idea that we can jump into the last eight minutes of someone’s life in some form of alternate reality? Well scientists have come to some form of conclusion that there are indeed alternate realities, citing that there are trillions of potential universes and so one must be similar.

We’re still not quite up to the standard of being able to jump into augmented reality however. Sure we’ve got apps on our smartphones that provide us with information based on what a camera lens sees, but full human simulators probably won’t be around with us for a good few years at least.

But where could this fictional device find itself in that same time period? Well for a start, crime dramas would be totally ruined. CSI, Cold Case, even humble old Diagnosis Murder would be rendered pointless if all the detective had to do was strap himself into a source code machine and bam, the murderer is in full view. Sure beats looking through dental records and interviewing countless relatives for an hour of telly.

The whole idea of revisiting memories has already received quite a lot of attention in the Harry Potter series with the Penseive. But when Harry jumps into the memories of others, he is constrained by the contents of the memory. Source Code becomes a bit confusing when Jake Gyllenhaal’s character can do anything and go anywhere, thus going outside the limits of said memory.

So it isn’t revisiting a memory, it’s not time travel, but instead, it’s ‘time reassignment’. Confused? Yeah I would be too.

The mini twist halfway through the film reveals that Gyllenhaal’s character is actually dead, with the remains of his body at the Source Code facility and the cockpit simply a mental projection.

The film Limitless was released in the barren month of March, yet did well both commercially and critically. Here, director Neil Burger dealt with the side effects of utilising the brain to it’s full potential.

In Source Code, we’re also presented with the brain working ‘overtime’, presenting Gyllenhaal’s character with the projection of the cockpit, the visual and vocal recognition of both Farmiga and Wright, as well as all the source code stuff. It’s the fictional equivalent of a man dealing in the stockmarket, explaining Mullholland Drive to a child and making a soufflé, all whilst in a coma. Farmiga explains to Gyllenhaal that only part of his brain is functional. Is it possible for part of our brain to do such things? Or is it that on the continuous path of evolution we as a species are becoming smart enough to complete tasks using nothing but a small part of grey matter?

The fact such questions are present pays testament to Ben Ripley’s script. As a piece of fiction, it challenges the borders of possibility and gives people like me who have verbal diarrhea a chance to discuss the features of the film.

For all it’s worth, Source Code is an incredibly clever film and while there are a few areas which are quite baffling, there is enough originality in the script and in it’s execution that the negatives can be forgotten.

But this of course, just my interpretation. Got a view on the contents of Source Code? Simply post a comment and get the ball rolling.

Source Code : le film avec Jake Gyllenhaal adapté en série ?
16 septembre 2011

Sorti il y a quelques semaines au cinéma, Source Code, le film de Duncan Jones (Moon), avec Jake Gyllenhaal, avait fait plutôt bonne impression. A tel point que la chaîne américaine CBS a l'intention d'en faire une série télé, avec Mark Gordon au développement et le scénariste de Lost, Steve Maeda, qui aurait la lourde tâche réécrire le scénario du film, pour le décliner en plusieurs épisodes.

L'histoire de Source Code, c'est celle d'un militaire (Jake Gyllenhaal) qui peut revenir dans le passé proche, durant 8 minutes, mais dans le corps de quelqu'un d'autre, le but étant d'éviter une future tragédie. La version télé de Source Code devrait tourner autour de trois anciens agents fédéraux, qui participent tous au programme Source Code.

Malheureusement pour les fans du film, Duncan Jones n'est pour l'instant pas impliqué dans le projet. Il n'y est même pas associé, puisque selon les Médias américains, il aurait appris cette adaptation télé sur Internet.

"Pour ceux qui se poseraient la question, je ne sais absolument queue dalle du projet de série Source Code. J'en ai entendu parler pour la première fois sur Twitter...!"

Quoi qu'il en soit, c'est un simple projet de pilote qui est en cours de développement et pour l'heure, rien ne garantit que la série arrivera vraiment l'an prochain.

Le film Source Code adapté en série par CBS !
Publié le vendredi 16 septembre 2011

Mark Gordon, producteur entre autres de Grey's Anatomy, a annoncé le développement pour CBS d'une série adaptée de Source Code, thriller futuriste avec Jake Gyllenhaal sorti il y a quelques mois en France.

Sorti en avril dernier au cinéma, Source Code mélangeait de façon plutôt habile action, science-fiction et romance, avec un duo d'acteurs très sympa composé de Jake Gyllenhaal et Michelle Monaghan. Le projet de série vendu par Mark Gordon à CBS reprendra grosso modo la même trame, à savoir la possibilité grâce à une technologie appelée Source Code, d'entrer dans la conscience de personnes impliquées dans certains évènements tragiques (dans le film, l'explosion d'une bombe dans un train) et découvrir ainsi les responsables.

La série suivra trois agents fédéraux qui font partie du projet Source Code. Le format de cette adaptation devrait être procédurale, soit une intrigue (ou une personne à sauver) par épisode. On est quand même sur CBS, la chaîne spécialiste du procédural, ne l'oublions pas ! Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Esprits Criminels) agira comme producteur, alors que le script sera confié à Steve Maeda (X-Files, Lost).

Aucun acteur n'est encore engagé sur ce projet, qui n'en est qu'à ses balbutiements.