In the title role of Captain Phillips,Tom Hanks has one of his finest parts in many years. Intense and gripping, the film poses all the questions that matter about the imploding globalization of the 21st century.

In 2009 a cargo ship called the Maersk Alabama set out to deliver freight to Mombasa, a route that led the ship straight through waters frequented by Somali pirates. Directed by Bourne Identity action master Paul Greengrass, and written by Billy Ray from Richard Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty, the film would be worth watching simply for its white-knuckle pacing, cinematography that veers between poetry and chaos, and its breathtaking build-up of tension. But Captain Phillips gradually, and relentlessly becomes something very different from what audiences might expect of a high seas pirate saga. Thanks to powerful performances, the film becomes a study of compassion that crosses ethical agendas, cultures, and ultimately personal dreams for a decent life.

Hanks has never been more watchable. And I need to confess here that as much as I admire the actor, I do not love him. Here, he’s pretty much flawless. But as good as he is, he has company. As the tenacious, luckless Somali pirate leader Muse, Barkhad Abdi is mesmerizing. A native Somali raised largely in the U.S., Abdi is on screen even more than Hanks. With haunted eyes, skeletal face, and knife-blade body, Abdi’s character is the heart of darkness that Phillips must confront, convince, and ultimately escape. Abdi is joined by three other Somali actors who form a desperate band of impoverished villagers, high on an herbal amphetamine khat, determined to hold Phillips hostage for millions of dollars.

Here’s the deal. Of the four pirates who manage to board the Alabama and take Phillips hostage, two are hostile desperados. One is just a young kid who is aided by Phillips. The other is Muse, the guy barely in charge, who comes to see that Phillips is no heartless capitalist. Conversely, Hanks’ character senses the fear, the exhaustion, and the desire to simply live a decent life in the increasingly haggard pirate.

This meeting of two humanities erases national and political differences just enough to make Captain Phillips as much a saga of finding common ground, as it is a gripping adventure/rescue saga. The last half hour will push your tolerance for hair-raising tension to the limit. And Hanks’ final scenes are so stunningly true to human experience, so vibrantly real (as opposed to actorly) as to defy the canon of acting tricks. It is a performance worth a whole lot more than a mere Oscar.