MovieChat Forums > Source Code (2011) Discussion > A question about the memory/ simulation

A question about the memory/ simulation

posted 8 years ago by Neelis
3 replies | jump to latest

I thought this was a brilliant film - the execution was good, the characters compelling and the unraveling of the truth perfectly timed.

I have a question that keeps nagging, and I could not find the answer for it on these boards (I might have missed it). The story requires for the viewer to suspend disbelief; fine, I have no problem doing just that. But one thing doesn't add up, even when I accept everything happening in this film as a possibility. Namely; how was the main character able to freely move around the train?

According to the story, the last 8 minutes were retained on the brain of the deceased teacher. And Gyllenhaal's character could access those final eight minutes again and again.

Would this not limit him to just the conversation he was having with his companion? He would not have been able to see what was going on behind him, much less in other cars of the train, at the station or inside the van. He could not have known about the wallet being thrown back inside the train.

But he does just that; getting up, going into the lavatory, opening the ceiling and finding the bomb. Then going into the station, down into the men's room.

If this is all a simulation it could work of course; the simulation adjusts according to where he needs to go.

But the character is looking for the bomber. And for that he needs to be able to open bags from fellow passengers - the contents unknown to him. He has to access the conductor's space; without knowing what it looks inside. And he has to find the bomber - without having a clue of what this bomber looks like (even gender is an uncertainty.)

If we are to consider the teacher only spoke to the woman across from him, he would not have access to this wealth of information.

The only way I could explain it; all memories of all passengers were stored (doubtful, considering the blast), and through this he has access to every part of the train, the station and the car park (and the van containing the dirty bomb).

Is there another explanation? Have I missed a vital clue? Thank you for any insight!

[–] charzhino 8 years ago

I think its explained that the new surroundings hes in is actually a different reality or parallel universe. This would mean every decision that Gyllenhall made was a free choice as he says to Godwin at the end..imagine if you chose a different path on the fork road.

[–] Neelis 8 years ago

I think its explained that the new surroundings hes in is actually a different reality or parallel universe. This would mean every decision that Gyllenhall made was a free choice as he says to Godwin at the end..imagine if you chose a different path on the fork road.

Thank you for your reply. Not one moment during the film did I catch a hint of it being a parallel universe. It felt like a very elaborate simulation, in which he was able to move around freely - yet how he could move and determine who the bomber was is a complete mystery. It's a man he's never even seen on the train.

Perhaps it's an unresolved matter not even the filmmakers have an answer to.

[–] jamesjacksonjrjj 8 years ago

He makes it clear at the end through the email that they changed history. He wasn't in a simulation and he wasn't in that guys memory like he was told. He entered a parallel universe through that guys body. Rutledge didn't really understand his own creation. So while he died in the original timeline his mind lives on through the guy on the train in this new universe (new world is the exact words he uses at the end)