The Guys
The premise ofThe Guysis simple: A fire captain (Anthony  LaPaglia), who lost eight firemen in the fall of the World Trade Center,  asks a journalist (Sigourney Weaver) to help him compose eulogies for  these men. It's only a week after the attack; their bodies haven't yet  been found, but the families are holding services. The writer cajoles the  sometimes inarticulate and plain-spoken captain into talking about the  men--who range from the captain's best friend to a newcomer he'd only know  a few weeks--until she's gleaned enough to piece together a tribute.  Originally a play by Anne Nelson, the movie captures much of the texture  of New York through montages woven into the storyline; but the piece lives  or dies by the performances, and both Weaver and LaPaglia give subdued and  unfancy but carefully wrought performances that make the most of this  potent material.--Bret Fetzer