Oliver Stone turns respectful and sensitive in this solemn and well-told tribute

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2011)

Touching, humane, scrupulous and realistic. Not words that are usually heard describing an Oliver Stone film, with all due respect to the director. Despite the extremely touchy subject matter (or perhaps because of it), many other paths could have been taken, from the flamboyant to the downright controversial, judging from Stone's previous works at least. However, he chose to take the docu-drama route, basing the film on testimonies of two particular survivors, the 18th and 19th out of only 20 rescued from the rubble.
Nicolas Cage plays the hard-edged veteran New York Port Authority cop Sgt. John McLoughlin, while Michael Pena is the wide-eyed rookie Will Jimeno. The real-life duo are the two remaining survivors of a Port Authority police squad helping in evacuation efforts when the towers collapsed that fateful September morning. The unlikely pair find themselves alive, but badly injured, trapped under 20 tons of concrete and mangle metal, the aftermath of the terror attacks on the Trade Center. It becomes a struggle for everyone: McLoguhlin and Jimeno fight to stay awake and alive, their families brave the emotional trauma and rescue teams attempt a tricky extrication. Beinga true story, we are assured a happy ending, and are relived when it comes.
However, it is the journey that counts, a harrowing one expertly portrayed with honest, gritty storytelling which is mostly factual anyway. The lives of a sergeant and his subordinate abruptly splice together, the story on all sides seamlessly narrated. Flashbacks and scenes of how the two families deal with the situation provide respite from the darkness and claustrophobia of the rubble. John and Will's wives, Donna (Maria Bello) and Allison (Maggie Gyllenhaal) respectively, go through the most pain as they fear for their beloveds' lives.
The film is carried by the leads' credible performances, acting from the neck up but still delivering credible performances that move and convince. Cage and Pena play each other off with near-perfection, the two exuding just enough chemistry under the most impossible of situations. The normally glamorous Bello and Gyllenhaal are believable-enough as the traumatized wives, though they definitely fall short of Cage and Pena's deliveries.
The only traces of director Stone's usual flamboyance are the dramatic computer-generated imagery (CGI) depictions and the large, true-to-life set-piece reconstruction of Ground Zero. The director wisely uses these as mere tools in the telling of a very human story, noticeably steering clear of anything that might be offensive. Even the planes smashing into the towers are not fully depicted; a passing shadow of the first airliner hints and the tragedy to come.
However, as the story is based on real life and revolves simply around the two men's ordeal, fans of Stone's more high-octane motion pictures such as Platoon and Alexander will find World Trade Center mildly uninteresting at best, terribly boring at worst. Before watching the film, one must understand that the action and thrill are mainly psychological, and is all about appealing to one's nobler sentiments. World Trade Center is not your average summer action flick, but rather, as corny as it sounds, is a testament to hope, faith and the human spirit, displaying the fragility of family and the strength that lies dormant within us all. A first-rate human drama, a solemn and unexpected offering from Oliver Stone.
RATING: 4/5 STARS By Jedd Jong