World Trade Center
Screenplay written by: Andrea Berloff
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie
Gyllenhaal,
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Rated: PG-13 ( For intense and emotional content, some
disturbing images and language)
World Trade Center
Screenplay written by: Andrea Berloff
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Rated: PG-13 ( For intense and emotional content, some disturbing images and language)
On September 11, 2001, Sgt. John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Officer Will Jimeno (Micheal Pena) awakened before dawn to start their usual day. As New York City Port Authority officers, their normal duties included insuring the passenger’s safety in the bus and subway stations and keeping the derelicts from hassling passengers. Then the unthinkable crash of an airliner into the World Trade Center impacts the fragile peace of the beautiful morning. Within minutes McLoughlin and Jimeno begin to comprehend the horrific implications as both go into the burning building driven in their commitment and self-sacrifice to save as many lives as they can. But when the iconic towers collapse and acrid debris comes crumbling down on innocent lives, McLoughlin and Jimeno become pinned down inside the structure amid the fallen wreckage and human carnage. With mountains of cement columns and smoldering rubble all around them and no ability to save themselves, Oliver Stone directs their remembrances of family and their families’ excruciating thoughts of them. Enduring the unbearable possibilities, John and Will’s wives (Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal) experience the excruciating wait to hear if their husbands survived while their fellow rescuers never give up.
He Said:
Horrific, intense and filmed with incredible skill, World Trade Center brought the magnitude of the disaster into perspective by leading us to the inescapable equation of multiplying the pain and trauma of these two men by thousands. That day of monumental disaster is authentically captured on a very personal level by experiencing it through the heroic true story of McLoughlin and Jimeno. With none of the expected political innuendo that Oliver Stone is known for in his films, their private experience in the disaster highlighted the tragic human costs and celebrated the individual courage that affected so many lives that day. Perhaps this film should be widely seen by every future generation to never allow that day or the heroism to fade.
On the R&R Scale (1-10):
7 for script: Natural dialogue and human interaction.
7 for direction: Trauma on a personal level with no political overtones to dilute it.
7 for acting: Cage and Pena especially natural.
8 for plot: Felt authentic and humanistic.
7 for entertainment value: You’ll feel it.
7.2 Overall
She Said:
The crowd walked slowly and quietly out of the theater after the World Trade Center credits quit rolling and I unfurled my tense fist. With the indelible scenes of the towers being hit by the planes and with falling people and debris still imprinted on many minds, watching this film made the agony of empathy almost unbearably uncomfortable. Oliver Stone’s film was also a solemn celebration of courage and survival that could not help but have the audience reliving the incomprehensible tragedy at Ground Zero on an intimate level not experienced before. A full array of emotions that spanned agonizing angst and tears to fury and heartfelt joy could not be escaped any more than our heroes could escape. You simply cannot see this film without appreciating the magnitude of the bravery and the devastating tolls on the lost and surviving human lives that dared to hope. Although the events seemed too recent to be entertainment in the conventional sense, World Trade Center was a respectful tribute to the people who sacrificed their lives that day trying to save others.
On the R&R Scale (1-10):
8 for script: Authentic, humanistic, and gratifying.
8 for direction: To Stone’s credit, no whys or hows asked but a light shone into the window of the human spirit.
8 for acting: Natural and heartfelt.
7 for plot: Unfortunately, very realistic.
7 for entertainment value: Uncomfortably real and emotional, as it should be.
7.6 overall
