Oliver Stone and the Truth

Rating: Null/10 (6 November 2007)

I appreciate Oliver Stone movies when they're fiction, but HATE what he does to facts/history. I had a chance to buy this film at a very low price, and since 9-11-01 remains of interest and concern to me, I held my breath and went ahead with it. The other factor that pushed me towards it was Maggie Gyllenhaal. She's been great in everything I've ever seen. I've come to trust her. Nicolas Cage has a spotty record with me, but I'm still willing to check him out  despite my fear he'll over-act. Well, Maggie was great, Nicolas did NOT over-act, and Ollie did NOT disregard the facts or the emotional truth. (My pessimism says it was because this episode in our history is too fresh, clear, and important to us to let him risk getting away with the usual fact-bending and lying. Whatever the case, EVERYONE did a great job. It was a tense, very emotional, intimately accurate look at those first couple of days, and the limbo in which a few "lucky" people found themselves. Michael Pina and Maria Bello were no less impressive. The score was ominous, sad, meditative, and never intrusive. I was very moved by this film  not in the same way as the documentary footage, of course, but by its tight, claustrophobic storytelling of one tiny set of moments for just a few of the thousands  millions  of people affected then, and who remain affected.