WORLD TRADE CENTER
Rating 4 out of 4
McLoughlin . . . . . . . Nicolas Cage
Donna . . . . . . . . . . . . Maria Bello
Will Jimeno . . . . . . Michael Pena
AllIson . . . . . . Maggie Gyllenhaal
Scott Strauss . . . . Stephen Dorff
Dominick . . . . . . Jay Hernandez
Lynn . . . . . . . . . Patti D'Arbanville
Paramount Pictures presents a film directed by Oliver Stone.Written by Andrea Berloff. Based on the true-life events of John andDonna McLoughlin and Willliam and Allison Jimeno. Running time: 125minutes. Rated PG-13 (for intense and emotional content, somedisturbing images and language). Opening today at local theaters.
"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articlesabout them, reveling in their status as celebrities. ... I've neverseen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much."
Hatemonger Ann Coulter's assessment of some of the widows of 9/11victims.
It would be my great pleasure to arrange for a screening of OliverStone's "World Trade Center" for Ann Coulter and some of the familieswhose loved ones were killed or seriously injured on 9/11. It couldtake place in New York, New Jersey, any place, any time, all expenseson me. All I ask is, after the screening is over and the lights goup, that Coulter should stand and face these families and explain tothem why she believes they experienced anything but the most profoundemotional pain on that day and on all the days that have followed.
Of course, Coulter will never go for something like that. Thatwould take character and humanity, and she's an unconscionable pig.
However, a number of conservatives whose hearts aren't rottedblack have seen advance screenings of "World Trade Center," and fromconservative watchdog Brent Bozell to longtime right-wing columnistCal Thomas, they are singing its praises. Oliver Stone has createdone of the most patriotic, pro-American films in recent years -- amovie that avoids Bush bashing and doesn't offer so much of a whisperof a conspiracy theory. It's not about politics -- it's about family,friendship and heroes who love their country.
John Wayne would have loved this film.
In perhaps the most conventional, straightforward movie of hiscareer, Stone re-creates the events of the morning of Sept. 11, 2001,as experienced by two New York Port Authority police officers whowere summoned to the scene after the first tower was hit. NicolasCage plays Sgt. John McLoughlin, a 21-year veteran who is said toknow the layout of the World Trade Center buildings as well as anyoneon the force; Michael Pena is Will Jimeno, a rookie who steps forwardwhen McLoughlin asks for a handful of volunteers to join him on arescue mission in the north tower. (It is a smart, if obvious, bit ofcasting to have the Oscar-winning action-hero star as the authority-father-figure, and a talented unknown as the brave but frightenedrookie.)
As thousands of pieces of paper flutter to the ground and ash-covered survivors emerge from the towers coughing and bleeding, thePort Authority officers scramble to collect enough Scott Air-Paks (30-pound, self-contained breathing devices) to enable them to fulfilltheir mission. McLoughlin discourages suicidal acts of bravery infavor of a methodical sense of purpose -- and in fact, the officersare still in the shopping concourse between the two towers, gatheringequipment and verbally mapping out a plan, when the south towercollapses.
McLoughlin's legs are crushed, and he is trapped in a crevicebarely larger than a shallow grave. A few yards away, Jimeno ispinned under a slab of concrete. Two of their colleagues are dead,and a third is killed by a falling concrete wall as he tries to saveJimeno. Now it is just the two men, the veteran McLoughlin and therookie Jimeno, nearly engulfed in the rubble, at least 20 feet belowdaylight. Their injuries are life-threatening, their pain is almostunbearable, they hear no sign of rescue teams, and they have no ideawhat is happening in the world above them.
For most of the rest of the film, Cage is seen only in flashbacksto his homelife, or in dialogue-driven scenes in the rubble, duringwhich he cannot move. Here we have an actor who thrives onmannerisms, twitches and over-the-top vocal gimmicks, literallypinned down. The result is one of his most powerful performances.
An entire movie about two men waiting to be rescued would beeither too static or too painful to watch, or both -- so Stoneperiodically takes us away from the meticulously created,astonishingly accurate Ground Zero set (built outside Los Angeles)and into the homes of McLoughlin's and Jimeno's wives, played byMaria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal, respectively, in performancesworthy of best supporting actress consideration.
Thanks to the work by the actresses and a beautifully craftedscript by Andrea Berloff, Donna McLoughlin and Allison Jimeno areperhaps even more fully realized characters than their husbands.Seven months pregnant and with a young daughter, Allison is a toughspitfire who can't even imagine how she could tell her little girlthat daddy isn't coming home.
Donna's marriage is older, more comfortable, less passionate. Asshe waits for word on her husband and struggles to keep an emotionalgrip on her three children (who are questioning why she isn't doingmore to bring their dad home immediately), she remembers smallmoments -- her husband fixing the roof, or teaching their son how touse a saw, or giving her a familiar, loving smile. Meanwhile, trappedin the rubble, John is doing the same. Thoughts of Donna keep himalive.
Stone does a superb job of capturing what it's like for anextended family to wait for word of a loved one's fate. You get thosemoments when everybody concentrates ferociously on some mundane task,like getting coffee or making sandwiches, as if it's the mostimportant thing in the world. At one point Gyllenhaal winds upwandering the aisles of a CVS, and when she realizes nobody in herparty remembered to bring a cell phone, her panic and her resolve toget home now are palpable.
In addition to the cops and their families, heroes abound in"World Trade Center," including a former Marine who sees the tragedyon TV and simply puts on his uniform and shows up on the site, and anex-paramedic with a drug problem who risks his life to help saveMcLoughlin and Jimeno. Stone's direction is so cynicism-free that youwonder if he was visited by the ghost of Frank Capra while shootingthis film.
As with "United 93" earlier this year, there's much discussionabout whether audiences are "ready" to see a mainstream movie aboutthe events of 9/11. In New York, they're still talking about what tobuild on the site of Ground Zero, while Hollywood has already built areplica of Ground Zero for a film. You might not want to re-livethese events, even though this is an uplifting story about survivaland about American resilience in the face of a terrible horror.
That's your choice, but you'll be missing one of the best films ofthe year. Thanks to the work of Bello and Gyllenhaal, "World TradeCenter" in a way is also perhaps the most romantic film of the year,for it celebrates the strength of two women who didn't know if theirhusbands were coming home, and two men who stayed awake and alive bytalking and thinking about the women waiting for them.
Of the 20 people who were rescued from the rubble of Ground Zero,McLoughlin and Jimeno were the 18th and 19th. Their rescue provided aglimmer of hope and joy in some of the country's darkest hours.Stone's tribute to their struggle is a respectful salute to hiscountry.
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