94 - World Trade Center review

I wrote this review within 30 minutes, so it is not nearly as good as I would like it to be, but it was what went to print, and with a very unfortunate headline at that. Oh well. Enjoy.






I have learned to stop discussing 9/11 with most people my age that I meet. For whatever reason, many in my generation are so self-centered they fail to fathom the world outside their own stupid bubble, and scoff at suggestions that 9/11 may have meant something to everyone. Things are not as they should be when more than a few of us decide not to examine that terrible day, but to pretend it never happened in the first place, as if it were just some far-fetched film that never left its screen.

Thus comes Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, the second film this year concerning 9/11. Like United 93 in April, the grosses thus far have been profitable but relatively small when compared to the average hit. Also like United 93, I discovered that attempts to draft friends to accompany me to the theater is a losing battle, with responses ranging from apathy, to concerns over potential unpleasantness, to the infinitely irritating "It’s just too soon." In this case, I am always happy to remind people that good films can never be too soon, nor too late.

World Trade Center’s strongest parts come at the beginning and the end. The opening shows us a New York City going about business as usual, blissfully unaware of the horror that lurks just around the corner. Observing the calm immediately before the storm has its own bizarre chills, as watching the last breath of a society that considered itself nigh invulnerable carries an unexpected dread.

Before long, commercial aircraft have hit the Towers, and all hell breaks lose. No one has a clue what to think or how to act in this nightmarish scenario, but Port Authority officers John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) are among those brave souls to enter Tower 1 in an attempt to rescue those inside. The brief sequence where the police move through Tower 1’s upscale shop laden concourse while blood soaked victims file calmly out the door combines both the horror of the damage already inflicted with the anticipation and arrival of the collapse to intense, unnerving effect.

Once McLoughlin and Jimeno are buried in rubble, the primary plot point begins, focusing on the rescue efforts, the men’s wives (Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal), and their efforts to keep each other awake through agonizing pain. This section plays well but unimaginatively, especially as we watch the families awaiting news on the trapped men. We’re reminded of the feeling of weakness many felt on that day, eyes glued to televisions, watching impatiently as the same news gets replayed a thousand times over. It may evoke memories of the period, but as some have suggested, you could plug much of the material into your standard disaster film and the difference could be negligible.

The knowledge that we are watching a representation of real events constitutes as much if not more of the film’s impact than the talent of the filmmakers or actors. Where Paul Greengrass’ brilliant 9/11 film United 93 utilized real events to add power, World Trade Center relies completely on those events, which prevents it from attaining the extreme level of harrowing impact that United 93 carried in every frame. We know going in that we’re seeing a story of survival, and at times the wait feels long, as if stalling for time.

I did really appreciate the smaller details that Stone took the time to focus on. Various smaller characters add much to the canvas, such as a police officer who does not survive long after the Tower 1 collapse, or many of the rescue crew. Particularly fascinating is the story of Dave Karnes (Michael Shannon), a former Marine and devout Christian who drops everything to drive from Connecticuit to Ground Zero so he can assist with the rescue efforts. When considering how few of us have ever turned our entire existence upside down to go and do what we think is right, these inspiring scenes are among the best in the film.

Anyone familiar with Stone’s work may be surprised. Well known as a leftist conspiracy theorist prone to paranoid fantasy (1991’s JFK), this doting admirer of Fidel Castro has put politics completely aside and produced a film that conservatives have eagerly embraced, though the appeal to liberals remains just as high. It’s a classically told story of fear, pain, hope, and survival that anyone should be able to admire, if not necessarily rave about. If one could sit through one of the final shots of the men ascending from their personal concrete hell to celebrating rescue workers without feeling the least bit stirred, then you might want to consider giving up on watching movies.

4 out of 5