David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com

Rating: 5/10 (29 July 2006)

Thursday July 27, 7:00pm The Harvard Exit
"Pain is your friend. It means you're alive."
Oliver Stone's name above the title guarantees certain things. His films are well conceived, well executed, and unashamedly possessing his own unique political bent. They are undeniably compelling to an audience, deeply thought provoking, morally disquieting, often unpleasant and always psychologically traumatic. Stone's latest film, World Trade Center, draws the viewer into the lives of two New York City Police Officers on what was an average, ordinary day, until the surreal events of September 11th, 2001 made it horrifically extraordinary. The audience comes to this story, as with any depiction of historical significance, knowing what the characters do not. Stone has only to offer his perspective on the tragic outcome. Wonderful performances from Maria Bello and Michael Pena notwithstanding, World Trade Center is an indulgent, clichÃ© attempt to romanticize the plight of the victims, offered up as the respectful remembrance of events many politically sane Americans would prefer to forget.