Movie Reviews
World Trade Center
Rated R, 2:05 (2006)
Starring: Nic Cage, Michael Pena, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Direction: Oliver Stone
Production:
Screenplay: Andrea Berloff
by Vincent St. James
Oliver Stone has created a solid tribute to the men and women in uniform who risked everything for the survival of others.
Material doesn't get much more sensitive than a movie with the title of World Trade Center. However, director Oliver Stone does not go for controversy in this very uncontroversial film (uncontroversial in terms of the actual movie). Instead, this is a film that will surely resonate with the millions of people who were affected that day, psychologically and emotionally.
The story is about the survival of Port Authority officers Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) and Sargaent John McCoughlin (Nicolas Cage) after the collapse of the Two Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The story is based on the actual events according to the two officers and their families.
The film reminds us of the unspeakable terror that occurred that day, but it also reminds us of the unity that followed. The movie, though containing many powerful scenes of sorrow, has a very positive message: just as human beings can commit heinous acts, they can act selflessly and in unison to overcome the odds.
The acting is very solid. Nicolas Cage seems transformed in this role--we soon forget that the policeman is being played by a big time Hollywood actor. Michael Pena is very likable as Will Jimeno, and conveys a very profound feeling of optimism in the wake of such atrocity.
Enough, however, can't be said about those who play the families of the policemen. The scenes feature raw emotions, and it will prompt viewers to think about the events that day from a different perspective (those who were not in New York, that is--for others, they will serve as painful reminders).
Maria Bello is fine as Mrs. McCoughlin, though it's nearly impossible to gauge the authenticity without knowing much about her real life personality. The same goes for Maggie Gyllenhaal as Mrs. Jimeno. Especially heartfelt are scenes between Mrs. Jimeno and her daughter, as well as the conversation between one of the wives and another women in a hospital in which the other women reveals that her son, with whom she recently had had an argument, was also somewhere among the rubble.
The film is powerful and Oliver Stone plays the material straight, i.e. without any political bent at all. It may not be as intense as the less-traditional, ultra realistic United 93 (the other 9/11 movie), but it serves its purpose just as well.
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