WORLD TRADE CENTER (2006)

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""Claustrophobia seeps through rubble""

The depression of that tragic day clouds the whole movie, creating a black hole of sadness. Joy is withheld from the film until the end, when a beam of hope shines weakly through the tragedy. Directed by Oliver Stone comes a story depicting the tragic events that followed on the day of September 11, 2001. While two policemen try to rescue the citizens in the Twin Towers as it continues to rage with fire, they become trapped under some of the remains of the building. As their lives hangs on by a thread, they strive to keep each other alive.

The image of 9/11 sends ripples of emotion through the hearts of Americans. Unfortunately, this emotional appeal may overshadow the bigger disaster of a plot. The film follows two policemen, John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), who end up struggling for their lives while trapped under the remains of the World Trade Center. Ironically, there is not much showing of the World Trade Centers, for all we know it could be another bombing in New York. If Oliver Stone is going to name and base the plot around the World Trade Centers, then he should show more images of them, instead of glimpses or symbols to imitate it. Three-fourths of the movie is spent under the debris of the WTC in dark claustrophobic confinement. As John and Will come to find out their perilous situation - alive, but unable to move- they talk to each other to stay awake and thus stay alive.

Oliver Stone over dramatizes the characters trapped under the twin towers. Moreover, Stone clearly sends a message that this is a Christian-based 9/11, by means of using bright yellow and white apparitions of a vague Jesus. At one point, Jesus is holding a bottle of water to give to the two policemen. Once again he over dramatizes the material of 9/11; it is already a depressing experience, no need to dramatize it. Nevertheless, Stone does stay true to portraying these two brave men and the grief and pain that they endured. The end of the movie fades to black, showing statistics of 9/11. Reflecting on the tragedy of 9/11, not a single person in the theatre moved when the film ended. Stillness hovered thickly in the air above them. In the end, Stone achieved the goal of capturing the hearts of the audience by choosing to film the events of 9/11.