Source Code

Directed by Duncan Jones. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michelle Monaghan, Russell Peters 12A cert, gen release, 99 min

WHEN NEWS emerged that Duncan Jones, director of the magnificent Moon, had signed on to do "a mainstream picture", more than a few of his newly minted fans winced in alarm. Could he be lost to us already?

Most certainly not. The first thing to note about Source Codeis that (insofar as we are yet able to identify such a beast) it looks and feels very like a Duncan Jones picture. Positing an enticing, if ludicrous, time-travel scenario, the film echoes the claustrophobia of Moonby restricting itself almost entirely to two locations: a train carriage and a mysterious, mouldy capsule. It dares to play with complex ideas. It doesn't fret about confusing the audience. It looks as if Mr Jones will be okay, after all.

The story begins with Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), a brave airman, waking up on a train opposite a friendly young woman (Michelle Monaghan). She calls Colter by another name and seems to believe he works as teacher.

Following a few minutes further confusion, the train is blown to smithereens and Colter comes to in that dark, disorienting capsule. It transpires that he is part of a government operation to discover who carried out the bombing and where the culprit is next headed.

The science part is pure back-of-an-envelope waffle – just say “quantum mechanics” enough and almost anything seems possible. But the key concept offers endless possibilities for creative perplexity. Colter’s controllers have created a computer-generated model of the train’s last eight minutes. Each time he relives the preamble to disaster he accumulates a few more pointers to its source.

More than a few critics have already described Source Codeas Groundhog Dayrewritten by Philip K Dick. The film certainly exhibits the unexpected sentimental punch of that fine comedy (no prizes for guessing that Colter soon turns sweet on his companion) and echoes the twisty meta-logic of Dick's scrappily written tales. But Jones brings a grainy intensity to the picture that is all his own. Roll on his forthcoming semi-sequel to Moon.

One final aside. In the unlikely event you are bored, listen for a much blogged-about, uncredited voice cameo that references a similarly themed television series. I confess I had to look it up after the credits rolled.