Under the lens takes a deep look at films and TV by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture or episode that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
World Trade Center (2006) was a motion picture directed by Oliver Stone and starring Nicolas Cage and Micheal Pena. It told the true-life story of Two Port Authority police officers (John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno) who rushed to help evacuate the Twin Towers and become trapped under the rubble as the buildings collapsed. It also featured Jon Bernthal, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Micheal Shannon in supporting roles, the picture earned $70m domestic and $162m worldwide.
Under The Lens: Nicolas Cage and Pacing
Nicolas Cage: Today Cage is better known for his endless stream of direct to VOD and DVD action thrillers, but once upon a time Cage was a box office draw and a respected actor. Cage is rather known for delivering good performances when he has a good Director overseeing him, in the case of World Trade Center Stone is able to bring out a truly great performance from Cage. It’s tragic and heartfelt you can really feel the struggle his character is going through. The way the picture is shot you feel every hope and disappointment that his character experiences
Pacing: With a film like World Trade Center, the pacing could have been a major issue, with a vast majority of the film being set under the rubble with the two men trapped. It would have been very possible to have the picture get boring and the story stagnates, however in the capable hands of Oliver Stone, this is never an issue, the picture clocks in at a brisk 129 minutes and is lean and mean, with little to no filler. In the end, the film is less about the event and more about the people who experienced it, thus the plot and pacing are focused entirely on them.
Highlights
Oliver Stone took a real-life event that at the time was still very fresh in the pubics mind, and handled it with respect and reverence.
The appearance of Jesus holding out a water bottle to Will Jimeno was both funny and touching (Look up the real-life story about this)
Micheal Shannon as a former soldier who travels to Ground Zero to look for survivors was an interesting sub-plot and showed the amazing attitude of the rescuers
Something to think about
Do you remember the events of 9/11? What was your favorite part of this film and why?
Conclusion
Overall there is so much that could have gone wrong with World Trade Center (2006) when handling such sensitive material. Clearly, Oliver Stone went into this with the mindset to do it right, and not only honored the survivors of this horrific attack but also told a heroic story of victory and survival in the face of terrible adversity. Sadly this picture is not well remembered but is a gem of the genre of historical biopics, I have the DVD on my shelf and I dare say you should as well.
