Meanwhile, on the coast of Somalia, a group of vans filled with local mercenaries arrives at Eyl, a small village. They arrive at the airport, kiss each other goodbye and Phillips heads inside as Andrea drives away. On the way, they express their concern over the changing times and wondering how their children will fare, as they know that it's a much different world than the one they grew up in and it's not as easy to find a good job. On March 23, 2009, at a home in Underhill, Vermont, Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is packing his bags, checking his passport, and confirming his itinerary before he heads to the airport with his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener). Navy, who would sooner see the lifeboat sunk with Phillips inside than allow it to reach Somalia. At the last minute, however, they kidnap Phillips in the hope of supplementing their take with a sizable ransom - a decision that leads to a tense standoff with the U.S. When that plan fails, the pirates agree to take the cash from the safe and flee in the Maersk's lifeboat. But that isn't enough, and Muse demands that Phillips help him search every corner of the ship to root out the terrified crew. In order to appease their leader, the ruthless Muse (Barkhad Abdi), Phillips offers them the $30,000 that's been locked in the ship safe. But the interlopers soon discover something that sends them into a furious rage: After effectively shutting down the ship, Phillips explains that the Maersk had malfunctioned when the crew pushed it too hard in an attempt to evade the attackers. While Phillips' team follow his orders to hide until they hear him give the safe word, the captain and a few essential crew members remain on the bridge as the heavily armed pirates make their way up to seize control of the ship. They asked him if he wanted beer, thinking that all Americans loved beer.Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) and his crew are carrying freight around the Horn of Africa when four Somali pirates forcefully take over their ship, the MV Maersk Alabama. (Though Phillips says he just darted past him, rather than pretending to go to the bathroom himself.) After that, Phillips says the pirates beat him, started playing mind games with him (he was becoming paranoid), and performed mock executions. But the real hijackers might not have been quite so isolated: According to the Associated Press, officials said they were communicating with other pirate boats via satellite phone.Īs in the movie, things got much worse after Phillips tried to escape, while one of the pirates was urinating off the boat. (Phillips says he really did have to suggest that they remove their clips before using a gun to break the window.) Phillips also describes how the pirates “claimed they were former fishermen who’d been forced into banditry when their livelihoods disappeared,” just as they do in the movie. Over those five days, the extreme heat raised tensions, and the pirates broke the boat’s windows to let in some air. In the movie, Phillips says things like, “If you want to shoot someone, shoot me!” But Phillips says that he never meant to sacrifice himself for the crew. Though he was made a hero by ensuing media reports, Phillips doesn’t call himself a hero for these actions. ![]() But after Phillips went down to the lifeboat to help the pirates get it started, the hijackers kept Phillips and reneged on the deal. This shifted the balance of power, and the crew was eventually able to negotiate an exchange of Muse for Phillips. (According to the book, they all had sandals.)Īs in the movie, it was chief engineer Mike Perry that scuffled with Muse in the dark of the engine room and, after badly cutting Muse’s hand, used the knife to take him hostage. The book, for example, never describes a barefoot pirate stumbling on a field of broken glass, left by the crew as a booby trap. The crew’s efforts to take the ship back are also largely accurate, though some details seem to be invented. They really did offer the pirates the $30,000 from Phillips’ safe, but the hijackers wanted much more. He pretended he didn’t understand them, that the ship was “broken,” and he surreptitiously turned on his radio to sneak news to his crew. Business or not, Phillips tried to slow their progress any way he could.
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