World Trade Center movie review, Film: World Trade Center; Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Mario Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Dorff, Michael Shannon; Director: Oliver Stone; Rating: ***

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World Trade Center Review :

'World Trade Center' presents a humane look at 9/11 (REVIEW)
By Sevanand Gaddala, Indo-Asian News Service

Film: "World Trade Center"; Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Mario Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Dorff, Michael Shannon; Director: Oliver Stone; Rating: ***

There is not a single mention of either Osama Bin Laden, the word 'terrorist', or even the war in Iraq. The movie "World Trade Center" stays away from the horrible political consequences of that fateful September day and simply focuses on what happened to two people.

It revolves around two policemen trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center and the agony their families had to endure throughout the ordeal.

The fact that "World Trade Center" is apolitical is even more surprising considering that Oliver Stone is the director. Stone usually takes on huge controversial ideas, conspiracies, and always seems to have some political agenda to push. All this is more than evident in films like "JFK", "Nixon" and "Salvador".

But this movie is lot more straightforward, well paced with a more emphasis on the narrative. It doesn't have any 'kill 'em all' mentality that has so come to characterise US foreign policy these days.

Two real-life Port Authority cops - John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) - are trapped in the rubble of the collapsed towers. The movie criss-crosses between the physical and mental ordeal of the cops with the anxious tortuous wait their families endured.

McLoughlin and Jimeno were just two of the five cops who were called to perform their duties but only they survived - after a 12-hour-long ordeal.

On one level, it is like a rescue movie. The scenes with the trapped men are claustrophobic, grimy with their faces caked with mud and the scenes with their families are bright, airy and at times glossy..

We have seen the images of the towers collapsing countless times but Stone is the first one to recreate the force of sound. Audiences are taken inside and beneath the rubble.

In one memorable scene, the screen blanks out and the next shot is of McLoughlin pinned down and immovable. We are immediately introduced to the claustrophobic space that the two will inhabit for a long time.

The performances by Cage, Pena, Maria Bello, and Maggie Gyllenhaal are admirable. Cage's face clearly shows integrity, honour and the burden of responsibility. Pena works hard and maintains a level of earnestness. The two actors convey the desperate connection they have to maintain since they can't see but only hear each other.

They talk about their families, about the small mundane details of ordinary family life. The kind of details that transcend ordinariness when you know you could die any minute. They talk about the unfinished kitchen that has angered McLoughlin's wife, Jimeno's argument over his unborn baby's name, lines from obscure movies and even humming theme songs of old television shows.

Maria Bello plays McLoughlin's wife - a capable mother, holding everything together but whose world is slowly crumbling with the possible loss of her husband. Gyllenhaal, playing Jimeno's wife, has a strain of nervousness on the surface but can plunge into depths of strength and fortitude.

Stone has focussed on the policemen as real guys. It is a true story and the heroes were not really ready to go and save their countrymen. Most of them initially refused to enter the struck buildings. They are clearly scared and apprehensive and they shudder every time they see or hear a body falling from atop the towers.

But through all this, they do their duty faithfully and the movie emphasises the extreme limits that ordinary people are pushed to unexpectedly and the enormous amount of courage they have to draw from within themselves.

The movie works because unlike the real world politics that the tragic day caused, it offers hope about survival and selflessness. It is a very important reminder that at the core of every tragedy is something very human - pain, loss, family, hope and survival..