In ‘Default,’ Somali Pirates’ Demand Is for Coverage
David Oyelowo plays a Somali pirate who wants his voice to be heard by the world.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
In a morbid synthesis of two Paul Greengrass movies, “United 93” and “Captain Phillips,” the found-footage film “Default” imagines the hijacking of a United States news crew after a visit to the Seychelles. Somali pirates storm the crew’s plane; as the aircraft sits on the tarmac, the hijackers’ leader, Atlas (David Oyelowo), insists on having cameras set up everywhere. He demands an interview in response to an earlier segment that the network has run.
The director, Simon Brand, makes effective use of shifting video formats to distinguish different types of footage. As is customary for this genre, “Default” resorts to loopholes and odd angles to ensure continued filming. The pulsing score also distracts from the verisimilitude.
But “Default” proves less interested in realism or current events than in mind games. When Atlas sits down with a veteran journalist, Frank Saltzman (Greg Callahan), they argue semantics. Atlas resents the use of the word “pirates” instead of “terrorists,” which he thinks American television reserves for Arabs. Clouding his motives, Atlas proposes a bet as to whether one would terrify Frank’s crew more: captors motivated by money or ideology.
The film is stronger with its moment-to-moment tension than with its cynical, shallow media satire. (The title refers to the method by which the group was selected. “A-list newscasters don’t visit East Africa as much as they used to,” Atlas explains.) Yet even the failure to find a persuasive closing note doesn’t detract from Mr. Oyelowo’s riveting performance.