Weekly Review -- Real life on film

World Trade Center (2006) -- One of the tragic historical milestones of the new millennium, September 11, 2001 has re-routed the course of our world as we know it. This Oliver Stone film does not focus on its global impact, though, choosing instead to explore the microcosm of these events' influence on two everyday families. John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and William Jimeno (Michael Peña) are members of New York City's Port Authority Police Department rescue team, sent to help after a plane hits one of the towers. After the buildings collapse, their team gets trapped in the rubble, not knowing if and when they themselves will be saved. While their families agonize over the men's fate, we follow the community's reactions to the tragedy, as well as the efforts of another team dispatched to rescue the two officers. The film's opening is expertly made, capturing the stark contrast between yet another workday morning and the terrorist attack that transformed the world. Stone also successfully depicts the initial confusion felt everywhere when the first plane hit -- not knowing what type of plane it was, if the event was an accident, if there was only one plane etc. The claustrophobia that McLoughlin and Jimeno experienced during what must have been the longest day of their lives is tensely palpable, making us realize their despair, but also their unshakable faith. Cage brings to life the roller coaster of emotions that McLoughlin is going through, while Peña's portrayal of the youthfully optimistic Jimeno is honest and touching. Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal also give strong performances as, respectably, McLoughlin's wife Donna and Jimeno's wife Allison. Gyllenhaal's character's breakdown at the situation's uncertainty is particularly heartbreaking to watch. I liked the inclusion of other characters -- as much as I would hate to name these people 'characters', I have to do so for the sake of the cinematic context -- and the impact that the events have had on their actions and choices. Overall, the film is an intimate work, treating with respect the events of this infamous day, as well as the human solidarity and altruism that rises from the ashes.

9/10