World Trade Center (2006) September 26, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone’s latest is a story that resonates through the memory of almost everyone in the world today. Although it has been five years since the tragic events in New York, the constant media-lead reminders make it feel much less. Now, following Paul Greengrass’s United 93 which was released earlier this year, we have the movie that tells this well known story from a more obvious angle: the heart of New York.
It’s probably fair to say that the plot needs no explanation, although the points of perspective do require some attention. Following the true story of two port authority cops John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), who along with a team of others, entered the towers to search and rescue. After the first collapse they find themselves alive, but trapped under tons of rubble and debris. What follows is a story of incredible human spirit from the point of view of the officers, their families, and the hundreds of rescue workers on the scene that day.
If there’s one thing this film does well it’s to remain consistent in its approach. Being a character-lead view of the event we see almost everything in only as much detail as the people involved would. Just one long pull-out shot from the wreckage serves as a set-piece for cinematic effect, everything else being either news footage or close to a direct character perspective. You never see a tower collapse, or either plane crash – the closest you get is the aircraft-shaped shadow officer Jimeno watches fly by. An ominous sign of what is about to happen.
This movie is lucky to boast both good direction and strong performances, not just from the male leads but also from the distressed wives played by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello. Their scenes break up the ones featuring our trapped heroes, and add the right amount of emotional depth to those characters. Director Oliver Stone has made a simple movie by all accounts, but I think this particular tale suits a traditional style over something more technically flash but emotionally vapid.
Another thing I admire about the film is that it really gets on with telling the story. There are some nice opening scenes showing the officers going to work, and taking their regular orders, but that’s all. No overlong character establishment, as this is smartly addressed after the part we all know is coming. Watching this movie it is clear how differently it would’ve been made if it weren’t based on an event we all know about. There’s no need for an overlong build-up, and the filmmakers have very wisely structured the film to focus on the people, rather than the event.
While the slightly heavy religious elements may not be for everyone, and the lack of hard hitting visuals during the crash sequence make this a slightly tamer movie than it could’ve been, there’s not much else to criticise. What stands out is the effort undergone to make it realistic, in both set design and mood. The confusion between people at ground zero is one example of this, with our main characters never finding out how many planes had hit, or where, despite the numerous rumours they hear.
Heartfelt but not tremendously negative, this is not a film that serves to mourn the dead (although it does do that). It tries hard to paint a picture of humanity coming together in times of need, whilst somehow remaining politically unbiased. Oliver Stone is known for being involved in controversial works after directing Natural Born Killers, and producing movies like The People vs. Larry Flint. So it’s interesting to see that this, a film that could’ve caused a lot of uproar, dodges all controversy and opts instead to tell a story of human spirit. In my opinion, a fine decision indeed.
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