Jake Weird
WTC Reviews
"Just about every movie critic will immediately want to draw comparisons between Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and Paul Greengrass’ heralded United 93, which was released earlier this year. I do not unfortunately have that luxury, as I am still awaiting United 93 to be released on DVD. I did not catch that one in theaters for fear of it being possibly too soon to be seeing films about 9/11. Since then I have changed my mind slightly about the 9/11 issue and decided to screen Stone’s World Trade Center because, as I found, it is a film that needs to be seen.
The film tells the amazing survival story of Port Authority Police officers John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), who were trapped underneath the rubble of the fallen towers on that fateful autumn day. It also shows the horrific event from the eyes of the two officers’ families. As both McLoughlin’s wife Donna (Maria Bello) and Jimeno’s wife Allison (Maggie Gyllenhaal) await the fates of their beloved husbands, we lay witness to their most terrifying hours.
The film itself is meant to be a story of hope and survival; as the tag line says “The World saw evil that day. Two men saw something else.” It begins in a very somber manner, painting a beautiful picture of America’s greatest city. After this calm and serene view of New York is set forth, Stone unleashes what would become the most horrifying half of a movie ever put on film. There is no political tone, there is no vision of the terrorists, there is just shadows of the planes hitting the buildings and then the gruesome reality of what really happened on that day sets in. The visuals are spectacular in their nightmarish accuracy. As I watched the towers crumble from the inside out, a lump built up in my throat and the tears began to well up in my eyes; it was an emotional experience like no other.
After the intense moments of horror and chaos, the film slows down. The second half of the movie shows the two men buried beneath the rubble, fighting to stay alive as they await the aid that may or may not eventually come. We also watch as their families go through the rollercoaster of emotions felt by all whose loved ones were involved that day. The unfortunate part is that as the story moves on and comes to a close, the film has less and less of an emotional effect on the audience. To put it bluntly, the film goes flat in the second half as we barrel towards what we already know will be a somewhat benevolent ending.
Therein lies the problem with this film; it does not deliver the immense emotional response based on the quality of the film, but more so the horrid nature of the events portrayed within it. It feels more like half of a great film than anything else, crawling to a close with a mix of untimely humor and drawn out sentimental moments. The performances are all solid, especially that of Michael Pena, but I found a hard time connecting with the two men. I felt less like I was watching what really happened and more like I was watching two professional actors half heartedly reenact what happened. I guess, in short, the second part of the film felt less real, therefore it was less impactful."
More in: The columbus movie guy
Another review extract, by www.epinions.com:
"Michael Pena, an actor who made an impression in CRASH, being less familiar, may be even more impressive as the Latino father, Will Jimeno, married to a feisty Italian woman, who argues with him about the name of their second daughter-to-be.
Maggie Gyllenhaal (SECRETARY, 2002) and Maria Bello (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, 2005) display a splendid lack of glamor and makeup in portraying the wives, and the rest of the cast is suitably downbeat. Many of them are retired New York City police officers, and one of the best crowd scenes is of the genuine tenderness and cameradery these grizzled men show toward the survivors being hauled from their tomb and passed along a double line toward waiting ambulances.
On the down side, in the editing process, the Pezzulo family, perhaps justifiably, objected to the graphic image of Dominick Pezullo's death. The offending shot was cut, but it leaves the viewer confused for a time just how Officer Pezzulo did die.
But I can report the film also has a very gratifying denouement."
More in: Epinions Review
The film tells the amazing survival story of Port Authority Police officers John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), who were trapped underneath the rubble of the fallen towers on that fateful autumn day. It also shows the horrific event from the eyes of the two officers’ families. As both McLoughlin’s wife Donna (Maria Bello) and Jimeno’s wife Allison (Maggie Gyllenhaal) await the fates of their beloved husbands, we lay witness to their most terrifying hours.
The film itself is meant to be a story of hope and survival; as the tag line says “The World saw evil that day. Two men saw something else.” It begins in a very somber manner, painting a beautiful picture of America’s greatest city. After this calm and serene view of New York is set forth, Stone unleashes what would become the most horrifying half of a movie ever put on film. There is no political tone, there is no vision of the terrorists, there is just shadows of the planes hitting the buildings and then the gruesome reality of what really happened on that day sets in. The visuals are spectacular in their nightmarish accuracy. As I watched the towers crumble from the inside out, a lump built up in my throat and the tears began to well up in my eyes; it was an emotional experience like no other.
After the intense moments of horror and chaos, the film slows down. The second half of the movie shows the two men buried beneath the rubble, fighting to stay alive as they await the aid that may or may not eventually come. We also watch as their families go through the rollercoaster of emotions felt by all whose loved ones were involved that day. The unfortunate part is that as the story moves on and comes to a close, the film has less and less of an emotional effect on the audience. To put it bluntly, the film goes flat in the second half as we barrel towards what we already know will be a somewhat benevolent ending.
Therein lies the problem with this film; it does not deliver the immense emotional response based on the quality of the film, but more so the horrid nature of the events portrayed within it. It feels more like half of a great film than anything else, crawling to a close with a mix of untimely humor and drawn out sentimental moments. The performances are all solid, especially that of Michael Pena, but I found a hard time connecting with the two men. I felt less like I was watching what really happened and more like I was watching two professional actors half heartedly reenact what happened. I guess, in short, the second part of the film felt less real, therefore it was less impactful."
More in: The columbus movie guy
Another review extract, by www.epinions.com:
"Michael Pena, an actor who made an impression in CRASH, being less familiar, may be even more impressive as the Latino father, Will Jimeno, married to a feisty Italian woman, who argues with him about the name of their second daughter-to-be.
Maggie Gyllenhaal (SECRETARY, 2002) and Maria Bello (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, 2005) display a splendid lack of glamor and makeup in portraying the wives, and the rest of the cast is suitably downbeat. Many of them are retired New York City police officers, and one of the best crowd scenes is of the genuine tenderness and cameradery these grizzled men show toward the survivors being hauled from their tomb and passed along a double line toward waiting ambulances.
On the down side, in the editing process, the Pezzulo family, perhaps justifiably, objected to the graphic image of Dominick Pezullo's death. The offending shot was cut, but it leaves the viewer confused for a time just how Officer Pezzulo did die.
But I can report the film also has a very gratifying denouement."
More in: Epinions Review
posted by Weirdland at 12:55 AM
3 Comments:
I love Maggie.
Quote from Maggie in Newsweek magazine of 8/7/06 which has a long article and positive review on the movie:
“A lot of the conversation about 9/11 in the five years since it’s happened has been motivated by a political agenda. From all sides,” says Maggie Gyllenhaal. “What that’s done is make everyone really wary of talking about it and thinking about it. Which is why I think ‘World Trade Center’ is so special. Somehow, in the midst of all this, Oliver has made a movie that doesn’t seem to have an agenda, either political or personal. It really is about honoring people."
Am looking forward to seeing the movie when it comes here in the theater later in the month.
Thank you for the Newsweek review, Penny Lane, it's interesting to get informed by several sources. In Spain, where I'm living, its release is on 29th September.
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