Post by manningfan5 on Sept 23, 2008 17:58:23 GMT -5
"The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test.” These words were spoken by President George W. Bush upon arrival to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on the morning of September 11, 2001. Hundreds of miles away and under thousands of crushing pounds of crumbling concrete and twisted steel, two officers of the New York Port Authority Police Department were facing the daunting test of survival firsthand.
Oliver Stone (“JFK”, “Born On The Fourth of July”) directs this poignant panaroma of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and this time his avant garde talent focuses not on the U.S. government, military or other institutions he has a history of being cynical toward. “World Trade Center” instead hones in on one team of stunned rescuers who arrive on the scene of the disaster and within several terrifying moments become victims themselves.
Paramount Pictures release “World Trade Center” begins with Sergeant John McLoughlin and Officer William Jimeno awaking before dawn to make their way across the Hudson for their respective jobs as Port Authority policemen. Their Manhattan morning has barely started when the shadow of a doomed Boeing 767 swoops over New York’s financial district and plunges into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
As the officers make their way through traffic to the Twin Towers a second plane strikes Tower 2. Upon arrival, McLoughlin immedietly mounts a futile rescue attempt along with four fellow officers. These five volunteers quickly run though a blizzard of copy paper and a hail of industrial shrapnel toward the smoking towers. Exhausted, they push a cart of oxygen tanks through the main concourse as they prepare to follow the stream of fire fighters who are climbing the stairs in search for the living.
As Tower 1 suddenly begins to crash down around them, McLoughlin and his men scramble past exploding shop windows and buckling walls for the safety of an empty freight elevator. Moments later, McLoughlin and Jimeno awake in Hell, a bleak atmosphere of black darkness, eerie silence, air thick with concrete dust and punctuated by scorching flames from exploding gas mains. As they lie pinned beneath concrete slabs and steel girders, they learn to love one another, as brothers. This concept of unity amidst catastrophe is evident throughout the film, from strangers tearfully comforting each other in waiting rooms, to families gathering around the living room, armed with cigarettes and pizza as they await for a fateful phone call.
Nicholas Cage (Adaptation, Leaving Las Vegas) grows a mustache and greys his hair a bit to play the somber but strong Sergeant. ““I didn't make Captain because I don't smile enough,” he remarks to Jimeno. TV star Michael Pena (“The Shield”, “CSI: Las Vegas”) plays his tough and talkative partner.
Another theme that permeates the film is the demographic diversity that is the United States. McLoughlin is of Irish descent; two of his subordinates are Hispanic, two are Italian. They are family men and Stone devotes half of his screenplay to the children, in-laws, but most importantly, to the wives. A radiant Maria Bello (“Thank You For Smoking”) and a feisty Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Mona Lisa Smile”) portray Donna McLoughlin and Allison Jimeno.
The haunting score by Scottish composer Craig Armstrong (“Ray”, “Moulin Rouge!”) is accented by a delicate nocturne that stirs the soul.
As the trapped officers’ broken and dehydrated bodies slowly turn against them, they experience powerful hallucinations that ironically humor and comfort them: Jesus Christ appears before Jimeno with a water bottle, Donna reassures her nearly comatose husband that he is needed at home so he can finish remodeling her kitchen.
Jimeno lies beneath The Rubble for 12 hours while McLoughlin endures for 22 hours. Both are discovered by a wayfaring Marine (Michael Shannon, “Pearl Harbor”). Firefighters and paramedics risk their own lives to crawl through the mangled horror to reach their fallen comrades. With bones and organs crushed and bleeding, the two good cops make their painful recovery side by side in a downtown hospital. On the wall outside their room are hundreds of flyers and photos of the missing; people who would never return to their loved ones. Only 20 people were plucked alive from the inferno of Ground Zero. McLoughlin and Jimeno were Numbers 18 and 19.
In the final act the real McLoughlin and Jimeno make a cameo appearance at a community barbecue. Both Mr. Stone and Mr. Cage decided that they would not do the movie without the input and blessing of the survivers. By doing this, Oliver Stone shows that he can rise above his history of controversy and conspiracy and use his God-given talents as a great filmaker to gracefully and compassionately recount such a sensitive subject with all of the dignity and respect it deserves.
As the credits slowly melted onto the screen, a youth nearby answered his cell phone. “I just got out of the “World Trade Center”, he said somberly. That's how it feels.
Oliver Stone (“JFK”, “Born On The Fourth of July”) directs this poignant panaroma of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and this time his avant garde talent focuses not on the U.S. government, military or other institutions he has a history of being cynical toward. “World Trade Center” instead hones in on one team of stunned rescuers who arrive on the scene of the disaster and within several terrifying moments become victims themselves.
Paramount Pictures release “World Trade Center” begins with Sergeant John McLoughlin and Officer William Jimeno awaking before dawn to make their way across the Hudson for their respective jobs as Port Authority policemen. Their Manhattan morning has barely started when the shadow of a doomed Boeing 767 swoops over New York’s financial district and plunges into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
As the officers make their way through traffic to the Twin Towers a second plane strikes Tower 2. Upon arrival, McLoughlin immedietly mounts a futile rescue attempt along with four fellow officers. These five volunteers quickly run though a blizzard of copy paper and a hail of industrial shrapnel toward the smoking towers. Exhausted, they push a cart of oxygen tanks through the main concourse as they prepare to follow the stream of fire fighters who are climbing the stairs in search for the living.
As Tower 1 suddenly begins to crash down around them, McLoughlin and his men scramble past exploding shop windows and buckling walls for the safety of an empty freight elevator. Moments later, McLoughlin and Jimeno awake in Hell, a bleak atmosphere of black darkness, eerie silence, air thick with concrete dust and punctuated by scorching flames from exploding gas mains. As they lie pinned beneath concrete slabs and steel girders, they learn to love one another, as brothers. This concept of unity amidst catastrophe is evident throughout the film, from strangers tearfully comforting each other in waiting rooms, to families gathering around the living room, armed with cigarettes and pizza as they await for a fateful phone call.
Nicholas Cage (Adaptation, Leaving Las Vegas) grows a mustache and greys his hair a bit to play the somber but strong Sergeant. ““I didn't make Captain because I don't smile enough,” he remarks to Jimeno. TV star Michael Pena (“The Shield”, “CSI: Las Vegas”) plays his tough and talkative partner.
Another theme that permeates the film is the demographic diversity that is the United States. McLoughlin is of Irish descent; two of his subordinates are Hispanic, two are Italian. They are family men and Stone devotes half of his screenplay to the children, in-laws, but most importantly, to the wives. A radiant Maria Bello (“Thank You For Smoking”) and a feisty Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Mona Lisa Smile”) portray Donna McLoughlin and Allison Jimeno.
The haunting score by Scottish composer Craig Armstrong (“Ray”, “Moulin Rouge!”) is accented by a delicate nocturne that stirs the soul.
As the trapped officers’ broken and dehydrated bodies slowly turn against them, they experience powerful hallucinations that ironically humor and comfort them: Jesus Christ appears before Jimeno with a water bottle, Donna reassures her nearly comatose husband that he is needed at home so he can finish remodeling her kitchen.
Jimeno lies beneath The Rubble for 12 hours while McLoughlin endures for 22 hours. Both are discovered by a wayfaring Marine (Michael Shannon, “Pearl Harbor”). Firefighters and paramedics risk their own lives to crawl through the mangled horror to reach their fallen comrades. With bones and organs crushed and bleeding, the two good cops make their painful recovery side by side in a downtown hospital. On the wall outside their room are hundreds of flyers and photos of the missing; people who would never return to their loved ones. Only 20 people were plucked alive from the inferno of Ground Zero. McLoughlin and Jimeno were Numbers 18 and 19.
In the final act the real McLoughlin and Jimeno make a cameo appearance at a community barbecue. Both Mr. Stone and Mr. Cage decided that they would not do the movie without the input and blessing of the survivers. By doing this, Oliver Stone shows that he can rise above his history of controversy and conspiracy and use his God-given talents as a great filmaker to gracefully and compassionately recount such a sensitive subject with all of the dignity and respect it deserves.
As the credits slowly melted onto the screen, a youth nearby answered his cell phone. “I just got out of the “World Trade Center”, he said somberly. That's how it feels.
