World Trade Center: Fitting Tribute to September 11 Heroes

An excellent way to mark the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is to see Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center". But beware. This emotionally wrenching, PG-13 film is not for the squeamish. Like the live footage broadcast around the globe on that fateful day, "World Trade Center" irresistibly sears itself into the viewer's mind.

Video clips of New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and President George W. Bush give the film authenticity, but "World Trade Center" is not a docudrama. Its primary strength lies in the emotional bond that develops between two Port Authority cops trapped twenty feet beneath the rubble while their families helplessly agonize.

Sergeant John McLaughlin, played by a weather-beaten Nicholas Cage, is assigned to help evacuate the towers, since he had done so during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His more loquacious sidekick, Will Jimeno, played with energetic intensity by Michael Pena, is a rookie anxious to prove himself.

The towers fall before McLaughlin, Jimeno, and the several other officers in the rescue party have a chance to act. McLaughlin, Jimeno, and a third policeman find themselves trapped in a Dante's inferno, a smoldering pile of twisted metal and concrete, occasionally erupting in yellow and white flame, each time burying the men deeper. The third man is soon killed during one of these tectonic shocks.

Realizing that they are both bleeding internally, the rather laconic McLaughlin directs Jimeno to keep talking so they can both stay awake and alive. The men open up to each other, expressing candid thoughts about their wives, children, worries, and dreams. Prior to this point, they did not know each other well. Their conversation is reminiscent of American soldiers having frank talks with total strangers while en route to Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. A memorable moment comes when the reticent McLaughlin, his voice and face quivering, laments that people don't like him because he doesn't smile much.

"World Trade Center" is sometimes maudlin, but the raw emotions of September 11 that it evokes still make it mesmerizing. The scene in which Jimeno's wife Allison ( Maggie Gyllenhaal) faints at a CVS pharmacy seems contrived. And Jimeno's vision of Jesus offering him designer water is tacky. A better attempt at spirituality occurs when McLaughlin sees his wife Donna (Maria Bello) hovering over him while discussing the imperfections of their marriage. Scant comic relief comes when Donna starts complaining about unfinished kitchen cabinets.

As the hours in the rubble mount, the men complain about their thirst, and by the end of "World Trade Center", my own mouth was desperately dry.

A turning point comes when ex-marine David Karnes (Michael Shannon) announces to his pastor in a Connecticut church that he's going to Ground Zero to look for survivors. Once there, he teams up with a fellow marine and eventually finds the trapped men.

Some have criticized "World Trade Center" for coming out too soon after the September 11 terror attacks. According to this argument, people are not ready for this film, and there isn't enough historical perspective.

The criticism has no merit. Some of the best World War II films came out during or shortly after that conflict, among them: "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944); "Best Years of Our Lives" (1946); and "Battleground" (1949).

No, it's not too soon to show a film like "World Trade Center". Judging from public reaction, it's just about the right time. According to the August 14, 2006 edition of The New York Times, "World Trade Center" opened at number three in weekend box office receipts. In my neck of the woods, it played to a sold-out audience at 10:20 p.m. on a Sunday evening.

After being rescued, the real-life McLaughlin was put into a medically induced coma and endured 27 surgeries. Jimeno had five operations. Ex-marine Karnes, who shunned publicity before and after release of "World Trade Center", re-enlisted. He served two tours of duty in Iraq. These men are true heroes, as are the firemen and paramedics who crawled through hell to rescue the officers. Their stories need to be told often, especially in these precarious times.