World Trade Center

Director Oliver Stone really stepped back making this film. After a few early scenes where Port Authority cop John McLoughlin (Niclolas Cage) looks in on his kids while they're sleeping before he goes off to work, I forgot for a moment that Stone'd directed it. I even thought, "Is this a Spielberg film?" The treacly score by Craig Armstrong behind some wrenching family scenes even smacked of Spielberg. Stone must have wanted to lighten up his image with backers and producers. No more conspiracy theory plots as in "JFK." or US government bashing as in "Born on the Fourth of July," and "Salvador."

The film was beautifully shot by Seamus McGarvey. Especially the scenes of dawn breaking over Lower Manhattan; the city waking up, the WTC silhouetted against the pale pinkish sky, people flooding out of subway exits, train, and bus stations; everyone starting his or her day innocent as to what will befall them in a few hours. We, the audience, knows, of course, and this makes for an emotionally difficult viewing. Bring Kleenex!

Rookie Port Authority cop, Michael Peña ("Crash") as Willie Jimeno, driving to work, listens to the weather report on his truck radio. It's going to be a clear, warm September day. Once the Port Authority cops, headed by John McLoughlin, gather in the office for their assignments ("Keep your eyes out for this runaway girl." ), we hear a loud boom which shakes the office. Everything stops. Cut to an exterior shot. There's the absolutely chilling scene of the shadow of a huge plane moving across the side of a building. Not long after, reports come in that a commuter plane had crashed into Building One of the WTC. We see the images of the gashed, smoking tower on television. People are aghast, wondering what had caused the pilot to do this. Before long, the truth is known.

From this point on, the film focusses on McLoughlin and his men. They are trained to rescue people. Their goal is to get a team to the building and up the elevators to evacuate everyone. Stone used film clips and video of the actual events, even showing a scene of people watching in horror as someone falls, having jumped, from the burning, smoking tower. At one point, McLoughlin says something about being prepared for every kind of emergency, "but nothing like this. We don't have a plan." Regardless, he and a volunteer crew don equipment and start for the elevators in the concourse between the towers. There are more loud explosions, sounds of glass shattering, pillars cracking, metal squealing. The closest analogy would be of an earthquake the magnitude of San Francisco's in 1906. People are screaming, running, some are bleeding. We remember these images from seeing them on television news all day on the 11th and repeated for I forget how many days afterwards. A point was made about this film: Is it too soon after that horrific event? Are people ready to see those images again?

McLoughlin learns that the second tower has been hit. As he and his men cross the concourse, all hell breaks loose. The buildings are collapsing around them. Concourse shop windows explode, concrete chunks the size of small cars crash around them. Fear and wonder register in McLoughlin's eyes as he sees what's happening. He yells "Run! Run to the elevators!"

The film cuts to black when the sound of the first plane hits. Stone spares us the sight of the planes actually crashing into the towers. The screen stays black and soundless for a few seconds. The same occurs with the scene of the building collapsing on McLoughlin and his men. Jimeno and McLoughlin are the only survivors, but they're buried beneath tons of rubble. The film move back and forth between what's happening outside and McLouglin and Jimeno, their anguished families, wives (Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal) and emergency crews: fireman, policemen, medical teams. Firetrucks and ambulances scream down the streets. There is a memorable night scene shot from the air of a quiet suburban neighborhood, homes on either side of the tree=lined street, lights from television sets flickering in the windows, everyone mesmerized by the enormity of the tragedy.


That Stone focussed on these men and their families was fine. Still, you have to wonder about the thousands that suffered as they did and lost loved ones. The only inkling we get is a wall in a hospital corridor where people had posted pictures and descriptions of missing friends and family. What kept the men alive was a premise you'd expect from Spielberg, not Oliver Stone: Jimeno's wife is pregnant; they had argued over what to name the baby (they knew it was a girl). McLaughlin's wife is upset with him because he never finished making the cabinets for the kitchen. While buried, Jimeno experiences a religous vision that he relates to his boss, "Jesus wants us to live!" Buried up to their chests, suffering further explosions and collapses, roaring fireballs, and sparking, shorting wires whipping about, Peña's and Cage's plight comes through in their weakening voices and grimy, soot coated faces.

McLoughlin and Jimeno had consulted with Stone and Andrea Berloft on the script. They and their families were interviewed extensively. So, there is one event that could only be called miraculous: If it hadn't been for one man, a retired Marine, McLoughlin and Jimeno would never have been found. Only 20 people were brought out alive from the tons of rubble that was once the World Trade Center. These guys were numbers 18 and 19. After their rescue, McLoughlin and Jimeno endured multiple surgeries over two years. They had to learn to walk all over again.

Stone included scenes of people from all over the world watching television or huddled next to radios as the atrocity occurred and its aftermath. We had the world's sympathy for a while. Then cowboy George blew it big time. Stone's film credits are imrpessive. Along with those mentioned above, he either wrote the screenplay, produced, or directed, or all three for "The People vs. Larry Flynt," "Any Given Sunday," "Natural Born Killers," and more. He did have an unfortunate disaster with "Alexander" in 2004. People couldn't get beyond Colin Farrell's blonde wig, besides he is just not Richard Burton or Russell Crowe.

As the fifth anniversary approaches, expect more media coverage on 9-11-2001. ABC is doing a special docudrama on September 10. The only reason I'm watching is that Harvey Keitel is in it. I've only seen trailers, but I think he plays a US government official. Unbelievable.