I just watched Source Code for the first time, and overall I enjoyed it. I watched it on my mother’s recommendation, who loves all things time travel, especially Run, Lola Run, Groundhog Day and the like.
While I don’t have any major problem with the main plot’s sci-fi shenanigans, there’s one small detail that has been massively bothering me since I finished watching it. I’ve scoured the internet for an answer but so far I haven’t found a single mention, let alone an answer to it.
I should caveat this by saying that one thing I usually love about do-over/time travel/sci-fi movies is the small details that are actually key to the narrative. Examples include:
Run, Lola Run
The fact that her interaction with the dog in the stairwell is the key to the different outcome of all scenarios
Inception
That Cobb’s wedding ring (or absence thereof) signifies whether he’s in a dream state or not.
So, the thing that’s bugging me is this: (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Colter Stevens identifies the bomber by looking at his driver’s licence, then relays that info (plus the the licence plate number) back to ‘reality’. Goodwin then looks up the bomber’s driver’s licence as well. But none of the information on the two licences matches, apart from the name and the picture (and, it seems the signature)!
The address, the serial number, the colour of his eyes, his weight, his height, issue and expiry dates, are all different! Even the two birthdays as well as his social security number are different.
How does this fit in? Perhaps the driver’s licence on the train is a fake, meant to convince the authorities that he has died as well, but surely someone would notice the address and social security number, let alone the height discrepancy at least, when looking up the name. And it’s not like he could continue to use a ‘dead’ man’s ID either way.
And yes, they are two different realities, but a) don’t they have the same starting point? and b) if the information was different in the two realities, what use would source code be in the first place?
This has been bugging me for hours. I see that one person on a goofs website has pointed out that one address has ILL instead of IL in the address, which is apparently wrong, but even if the producers goofed, why create a completely different ID with different immutable characteristics like height, just to correct it?
I am boggled. Please help! Conspiracy theories most welcome. Anything to get my mind off this damn detail.