Joe Barber Reviews “WORLD TRADE CENTER”

by Joe Barber on Aug.11, 2006, under Joe Barber's Movie Reviews

MOVIE REVIEW: WORLD TRADE CENTER

The events of September 11, 2001 will live with all those who were alive and sentient at the time for as long as they live. There has been much comment offered in the public media, asking whether popular culture in general and cinema in particular should attempt to re-create the events with an eye towards offering some understanding. Hollywood has never been expert at bringing meaning to historic traumas, but the just released “World Trade Center, ” stands as a significant and welcome exception to that rule.

Based on the true story of two New York City Port Authority policemen who were among the first to enter the towers after they were hit by the planes, the film celebrates their courage, as well as the courage of a small group of colleagues and volunteers who struggled to find and save them. John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) was a veteran officer who worked the WTC bombing in 1993 and had been trained in dealing with all the possibilities the city and Federal government believed could harm the city. As he headed towards the burning buildings, he confessed to a fellow officer the plane attacks were one danger no one had thought of or prepared for.

One of the busload of officers led by McLoughlin to try and evacuate the towers was William Jimeno, a young officer who’d recently transferred into the precinct in which the towers stood. Confusion and misinformation flew back and forth as the officers entered one of the buildings to try and get people out. Before any significant rescue work could begin, the building began to collapse. Only a quickly uttered command from McLoughlin saved himself and a couple of other men. Lying in the rubble and hoping and praying someone would come looking for them, McLoughlin and Jimeno struggled to keep each other awake and alive in the face of pain, doubt and despair.

While their families, along with millions of Americans, watched on television, wondering what had happened and what would happen, a few fellow officers refuse to stop searching as darkness begins to fall. They’re joined by a Marine trained in rescue and survival who saw the horror on television and drove to the city, feeling he was called to help by a higher power. A paramedic whose addiction problems cost him his license was also moved to join the search for survivors. Would this determined, rag tag band be able to beat the impossible odds and save these men ?

Director Stone has left his usual political stands and conspiracy theories behind to tell a simple, yet complex tale of human beings pulling together to help their fellow man. He lays the tale out in a crisp, direct manner that never over hypes the drama and emotion of the situations. Screenwriter Andrea Benloff, working from the memoirs of McLoughlin and Jimeno, effortlessly moves the story between the officer’s battle for survival, their memories of and concerns for their families and vice versa and the careful, determined search for the men.

Stone gets strong, yet understated, performances from his cast. Cage and Maria Bello, as his wife Donna, are utterly convincing as a long married couple who’ve been down bumpy roads together that have strengthened their love and faith in each other. Pena and Maggie Gyllenhaal are equally engaging as the Jimenos, a young couple who understand the dangers of his job but have the bond of their love for protection. The cast is filled out by a number of skilled character actors who add to the movie’s realistic feel. The special effects utilized here also add to placing a human face on the story.

No one movie can capture all the emotions that were stirred that day. But “World Trade Center” enlightens and engages by finding a story of true, unvarnished heroism and decency among the despair and destruction. It is, by far, one of the best and most moving films of the year.

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for profanity, violence and intense images of destruction.
JOE’S RATING: Four Stars .