Top Box Office Movies - World Trade Center

World Trade Center (2006) Paramount Pictures
2 hrs. 5 mins.
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Michael Shannon
Directed by: Oliver Stone
This film is rated: PG-13

World Trade Center

Rating:

E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG

Photo: Paramount Pictures

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, there have been some quite moving tributes done to honor that infamous day when the nation literally stood still in utter disbelief. And as a medium, the film industry has certainly made their contribution in the speculative aftermath that left the country disillusioned with grief. It was inevitable that Hollywood would chime in eventually and offer their imaginative take on one of the darkest days in recent American history. One cannot avoid the dichotomy involved; September 11, 2001 is a date that many folks want to forget but just can’t do it. Maybe it’s out of respect or fear or contempt or sorrow? Whatever the case, this is one teary-eyed event that will never easily be erased from anybody’s memory banks.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone has been searching for redemption as of late. And in his latest compelling and emotionally charged melodrama World Trade Center, he may have finally rescued himself from what was looking like a fledging filmmaking career. Basically, Stone needed a powerful narrative such as World Trade Center to gain back the dignity as one of our most aggressive and confrontational moviemakers working in cinema today. After long-winded period piece duds such as 2004’s Alexander, Stone needed his cinematic credibility back in tact. Well, World Trade Center delivers the piercing pathos and reminds us once again that Stone can make the transitional move and be both inventive and viably affecting.

For all the extended talk about Stone’s radical political philosophies and paranoia, he sets aside his typical cinematic tactics by helming an involving exposition that doesn’t point fingers or engages in the blame game. Instead, Stone personalizes this world-known tragedy by taking audiences on an interesting angle—from the heroic eyes of the individuals caught up in the despicable damage that unfolded so ominously. In fact, it was more challenging for Stone to approach World Trade Center from a low-key perspective as opposed to making the sweeping political commentary that most observers were probably waiting to attack the moviemaker for with urgent glee. In short, Stone was clever enough to let the small-scale humanistic side assume front and center without overwhelming the viewers with a grand scope of 9/11 jingoism. Wisely, World Trade Center is quietly absorbing, dignified and solemnly riveting.

Stone and screenwriter Andrea Berloff effectively tackle this material from a unique approach. After all, this is a film that’s not easy to watch from a psychological point of view. The only upbeat consequence involved was realizing how gritty and brave each of the protagonists was as their lives hung by a thread of hope, inner strength and determination. The focus of the film concerns a couple of New York/New Jersey Port Authority police officers that were on the chaotic scene at Ground Zero. Consequently evacuation efforts needed to be reinforced and time was definitely of the essence in this instance.

Officer John McLoughlin (Oscar-winner Nicholas Cage) is at the center of the action. A veteran of the 1993 Twin Towers bombing, he’s asked to spearhead the evacuation process during this nerve-racking predicament. McLoughlin enlists the help of three comrades, one of which is rookie cop Will Jimeno (Michael Pena from “Crash”). Tragically, the collapsing building parts result in the instant death of two officers thus leaving McLoughlin and Jimeno as the sole survivors out of their working group. The tandem is stuck in the durable rubble. Both McLoughlin and Jimeno try valiantly to remain conscious until help arrives. As their mind wander and their crushed bodies ache, the men console each other as they avoid the pitfalls of their current situation.

Interestingly, the real genuine motivation for the officers not giving up on life can be found in the fighting spirit of their worried spouses (Maria Bello plays McLoughlin’s wife; Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Jimeno’s wife). Naturally these women and their families are glued to the TV set wondering about the status of their missing, endangered husbands.

There’s enough dramatic heft in World Trade Center to sustain its 125-minute running time. Unlike the previous released 9/11 movie United 93, Stone doesn’t have the action-oriented flexibility to physically unleash the wrath of those involved in the dilemma. He merely generates the standstill suspense from the anxiety and anguish that’s contained in the lives of the imperiled cops and their loved ones. Sure, there are sequences featuring newsreel and re-enactment scenes that add to the turmoil and the camera lens are fixed on other rescuers and casualties. But the grunt of doom and desperation is placed upon the capable shoulders of Cage and Pena. They are the epitome of vulnerable Supermen and the performances are steady and firmly believable. As the women who share in the suffering and are the direct mistresses to the terrorists’ debacle, both Bello and Gyllenhaal are effectively frazzled but show a gutsy ounce of stability in their shadows of doubt and destiny.

It’s tough to ignore Stone’s piousness or perseverance when considering the thought-provoking verve behind his sentimental project. By no means is World Trade Center a great movie thematically or technically. But it does serve as a catalyst for the manner in which we all shake our heads in disgust to imagine how we all have a tendency to forget the sanctity of humanity on any given day. The film is ragged, tender, reflective and nostalgically potent. There’s no conspiracy theory here as Stone’s straight-forwardness is a blessing in disguise.

Let’s face it...almost everyone’s delicate feelings were tampered with the day the Twin Towers went down like a box of dominoes nearly five years from WTC’s production. Just leave it to Stone to wipe away his spotty movie-making resume’ and hit us all where it counts—right in the indelible psyche if not in the mushy guts.

Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts.

Frank Ochieng
© TheWorldJournal.com

<![if lt IE 4]> <script src="http://servedbyadbutler.com/adserve/;ID=132676;size=120x600;setID=49329;type=js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <noscript> <a href="http://servedbyadbutler.com/go2/;ID=132676;size=120x600;setID=49329"> <img src="http://servedbyadbutler.com/adserve.ibs/;ID=132676;size=120x600;setID=49329;type=img" border="0" height="600" width="120" alt=""></a> </noscript><![endif]>

Top Box Office Movies © TheWorldJournal.com, All rights reserved. Student News Network For the best advertising rates at TheWorldJournal.com (120x600 - new banner format by the Interactive Advertising Bureau), click here. Back to top	e-mail: info@theworldjournal.com sales: sales@theworldjournal.com