World Trade Center

Year: 2006
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello

Oliver Stone is well known for making controversial films, such as Alexander and JFK. Unfortunately for me, I haven't seen most of his films. I've only seen Alexander, and that isn't a good representation of the man's talent. I'd love to watch JFK, Any Given Sunday, Natural Born Killers and the Oscar winning Platoon. For now, I'll start with this one.

World Trade Center is all about that fateful day in New York on September 11 2001. The day terrorists flew two passenger airplanes into the twin towers, killing 2749 people. This story is told through the eyes of four people: John and Donna McLoughlin and Will and Alison Jimeno.

Cage and Pena play John and Will respectively; two Port Authority police officers sent to the towers after the attack, and were subsequently pinned underneath the rubble with their colleagues when the towers came down. Bello and Gyllenhaal play their respective wives, who anxiously wait at home for news of their husbands' fate.

The collapse of the towers, visualised from the inside was done realistically. And you got to give credit to Stone for visualising the situation under the rubble from John and Will's perspective. It's dark, claustrophobic and downright terrifying. Imagine being trapped under tons of rock and steel, being unable to move at all, trying to stay awake in order to survive. It is scary indeed. And to their credit, Cage and Pena play the two men well enough, as they try to keep each other alive throughout the ordeal, not being able to see each other, only hearing each other's voices, as they talk about their families, hopes and the future. Bello and Gyllenhaal are also commendable as the distraught spouses, trying to hold themselves and their families together as the news breaks.

A critic over here expressed his disappointment due to the lack of controversial angles Stone could have used. And considering the subject matter at hand, I can understand his feelings. But in my opinion, this film isn't about terrorism. It's not about why it happened or what happened afterwards. It's about that day, 9/11. It's about what went on in New York City on that day, and how two people survived the tragedy. That's it. It's a human story. It's the movie's strength, and also its weakness.

Strength, because it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a human story. Weakness, because the human drama from the four protagonists is all you'll get to see. No creative drama portrayed by other people such as victims in the towers before it happened. No views from other people around the city at the time. Perhaps Stone didn't want to lose the focus. But we do get some perspectives from the rescuers as well as one particular former US marine who drove all the way to the scene to help, and eventually finds John And Will there. Perhaps the simplicity of the film is its Achilles heel.

If you like human stories of courage, or you're interested in the 9/11 incident, this will do just fine. But don't expect anything groundbreaking. (3/5)