| Film Review | Dana Place |
World Trade Center
Nicholas Cage
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Michael Pena
Maria Bello
Jay Hernandez
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Plot: A personal look at the lives of two policemen
and their families as they are caught in the biggest
terrorist attack on American soil. Two police officers, part
of a group of Port Authority officers, head into a burning
World Trade Center to help evacuate as many of the people as
possible. Both buildings collapse and the families are left
wondering if their husbands and fathers made it out alive.
Review: I am not exactly sure it is possible to walk
away from this film without at the very least a lump in your
throat and more likely needing to use those napkins to do
more than clean off those greasy popcorn paws. Oliver
Stone’s film focuses on the families of two police officers,
and the officer’s themselves trapped beneath the rubble that
used to be one of the towers. While the film captures a
personal side of the tragedy that was probably to some
degree lost in the magnitude of 9/11 (and the story is
moving and at times heartbreaking), the real magic of the
film is the imagery Oliver Stone uses to remind us how the
tragedy affected us all while at the same time making us
acutely aware of the personal tragedy of the heroes.
Watching the shadow of the first jet hitting the south
tower, the confusion and panic after the second plane hit
and the alternating moments of triumph and heartbreak left
the audience with silent awe and reverence for a moving and
memorable experience.
Nicholas Cage puts in a performance as one of the trapped
police officers that is sure to change the minds of more
than a few critics of his previous films and will get him
noticed come Oscar time. Watching World Trade Center
reminds me of some of Oliver Stone’s greatest films and
deserves to be listed up there with films like Platoon,
and Wall Street.
