DVD/VIDEO: World Trade Center

WORLD TRADE CENTER (2006)

My Rating: ***** (out of *****)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Jay Hernandez, Nicky Katt, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley
Director: Oliver Stone

My Review:
When I first heard that Oliver Stone was directing a movie about events surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I was skeptical at best, deeply concerned at worst. With Mr. Stone’s history, I expected a manipulative, politically slanted, less than truthful film that would probably provoke indignation and anger in me. Throw in Nicolas Cage, one of my least favorite actors, and I was pretty much counting this one as a total bust.

World Trade Center just goes to show that positive change is possible, and miracles do happen. Deeply personal and beautifully honest, the second major motion picture of 2006 to address that fateful day in world history is arguably the best film of the year. WTC is also a perfect companion piece to this year’s earlier 9/11 movie, United 93. Both films take very different approaches to the subject. For example, United 93 plays like a documentary, capturing the raw confusion, horror, and bravery present on that day, while WTC focuses specifically on two families and their fight to survive the terrors of the attack, physically as well as spiritually. The films are alike in that they both focus on telling a story about what happened that day, avoiding politicization and emphasizing instead the triumph of courage and faith over hatred and hopelessness. Both films thus honor those who perished and those who survived, reminding a nation that seems to suffer from short-term memory loss to never forget.

Nicolas Cage actually turns in a solid performance as John McLaughlin, a NYFD fire chief who gets caught in the rubble of one of the collapsed towers with Will Jimeno (Pena, who was excellent in Crash and is equally effective here), a young Port Authority police officer. The movie shows us the events of the day as they would have been experienced by these two ordinary men, from the humdrum beginnings of just another September day, to the shock and chaos on the streets of New York as the towers are hit, to the eerie quiet of being buried alive beneath the rubble of a 110-story building.

Stone guides us through these scenarios with seemingly effortless grace. It is to his great credit that we are placed in the middle of the events without ever becoming distracted from the humanity of the characters. He is greatly aided by first-timer Andrea Berloff’s exceptional screenplay, which thankfully dodges the common pitfalls of disaster-themed movies, not the least of which are melodrama and kitsch. In addition to remaining single-minded and pure in her approach, Ms. Berloff does something wonderfully refreshing in today’s politically correct climate: She not only depicts people relying on their faith in God to get through life, but also gives credit to the subject of their faith. What a concept!

Attention is also given to the families of these men, waiting in helpless agony for any news of the men they love, hoping against hope that they are alive but preparing for the worst. Gyllenhaal and Bello portray Allison Jimeno and Donna McLaughlin, respectively. The former is a vision of spunk and tenacity, and Gyllenhaal nails the character on the head. Bello, fresh from her Oscar-worthy turn in A History of Violence, reveals again that she is an actress to watch. The scene where she shares an angry comradery with another woman waiting for news of her loved one that melts into gut-wrenching remorse for her last words having been angry ones is shattering and utterly brilliant.

The remaining cast members depict miscellaneous police, firefighters, and rescue workers, most notably Michael Shannon as ex-Marine Dave Karnes, who feels inspired by God to go and look for survivors among the ashes. Also noteworthy is Craig Armstrong’s simple and elegiac score, which is pitch perfect for the reverent and ultimately hopeful tone of this exquisite memorial to those who died and those who still live.

PG-13, for intense emotional and thematic elements, depiction of the aftermath of terrorist attacks with related images of destruction, death, and gory wounds, and for some language