He showed none of that.
He could have given us political spin.
He gave us none of that.
He showed us people in danger of being buried alive from a terrorist attack. He showed police desperately trying to evacuate the buildings only to be buried and trapped under a pile of rubble.
He showed the worried, mournful expressions and dialog of the victims' families. A pregnant wife wants to scream and cry like a little girl, but stays silent so as not to frighten her little girl. Is her husband inside the collapsed building or is he outside? Is he safe or is he...?
What will she say to her little girl when she asks, "Mommy, is Daddy ever coming home?"
He showed police officers--with broken bones and internal bleeding-- trying desperately to raise each other's spirits as they lie trapped in the dark, stifling hell created by fallen concrete and steel. Will they get out alive? Even if they do, will they ever be whole again?
He showed the flashback memories of the victims and family members. We see how wonderful the victims' lives were before the tragedy: a kind of before/after montage-which makes the tragedy seem all the more tragic.
He showed rescue workers of all stripes and political persuasions working together to save lives. He showed a marine sergeant and a firefighter working side-by-side, climbing and walking on top of the rubble, calling out, "If you can hear us, yell out or tap!"
He showed a boy pleading with his mother. "Mom, let's go find Dad! Don't you care?" The mother does really care and is torn up inside. She feels helpless because she has been told there is nothing she can do. How does she explain this to her little boy?
What he could have shown, he chose not to. In this film, Oliver Stone focused on the people-not politics and special effects. For me that made the film even more real--and not the action-adventure/political-spin flick I expected.
This film was really hard, even painful to watch. I fought back the tears as I witnessed not the largely unseen horrors of the terrorist acts, but the horrified, anguished expressions and mannerisms of award-winning performances by Nicolas Cage , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Michael Pena and Maria Bello.
The theme music by Craig Armstrong only further enhanced the humanness of the human tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001.
In my opinion, this film is of the same caliber as Platoon, the film that put Oliver Stone's name on the Hollywood maps. I rate it five stars.
Cast
Donna McLoughlin-Maria Bello
John McLoughlin-Nicholas Cage
Steven McLoughlin-Connor Paolo
Will Jimeno-Michael Pena
Allison Jimeno-Maggie Gyllenhaal
Volunteer Fireman-Nicky Katt
Marine Sergeant Thomas-William Mapother
Release Date: 2006
Runtime: 128 mins.
Rated PG-13
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