'World Trade Center' Is Atypical Stone

[Dumi]

(CBS) CBS News Sunday Morning contributor David Edelstein finds Oliver Stone's 9/11 film thoughtful, but lacking a political edge.Many pundits expressed outrage at the prospect of noted lefty-conspiracy-mongering sensationalist Oliver Stone getting his paws on the events of September 11; but in "World Trade Center," Stone has made a movie that's pointedly politics free—for better and worse.

It turns out he's capable of muzzling his speed-freak technique: when he doesn't switch from black and white back to color five times in one scene for no discernable reason, he can be a terrific director.

I say that as someone who regards Stone's "Natural Born Killers" as the most loathsome movie ever made — a work that bombards you with empty virtuosity while elevating a pair of serial killers to the level of existential heroes. "Platoon," however, remains an important portrait of war as moral hell; and in its nutty way, "JFK" distills the paranoia that would swamp American culture in the sixties and early seventies.

The best thing about "World Trade Center" is that Stone views that terrible day with the heightened clarity of grief. The cops and firemen in the early scenes already seem like ghosts: men doing their duty, even without direction, not knowing what we know.

The movie is misnamed, though: the focus isn't the twin-towers panorama but two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, played by Nicolas Cage and the superb Michael Pena, one of the stars of last year's "Crash." They're part of a team that goes in to rescue trapped inhabitants, never imagining those groans of steel they hear are harbingers of the collapse to come.

The opening makes you think "World Trade Center" might be a "Towering Inferno" kind of disaster picture, but Stone backs off from spectacle and carnage. The film revolves around the two men pinned under concrete slabs, trying to keep each other alive, and their spouses — played by Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal — who nearly go mad waiting for word.

All this is beautifully written and acted; I wept, as you will, at what these men endured, and was fascinated by the freakish heroism of Dave Karnes, played by Michael Shannon, a deeply religious ex-Marine who feels called by God to the fiery rubble.

But I also felt that viewing September 11 at this point in time through the prism of a conventional Hollywood profile in courage seemed ... inadequate. Maybe it's because the heartwarming conclusion is so unrepresentative — to the point where it almost seems like a denial of the deeper and more enduring horror. Maybe I wanted Oliver Stone to be a little — just a little — more political.

[Dumi]

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie. I saw United 93 w/ the GF and was really moved by it!

I think all this movies are rather stupid, they're making money by documenting events where thousands of people died you know, great, but we don't need 15 movies for each event...

Originally Posted by sh4d0ws

I think all this movies are rather stupid, they're making money by documenting events where thousands of people died you know, great, but we don't need 15 movies for each event...

I don't think you can say that fairly. I mean, if you think about it, most of the movies that have ever been made have something to do with events where many people died.

Think about the most highly grossing film EVER, Titanic. People died, remember?

THnk about all of the War movies that have been made, many people died again.

BUt nobody says that these movies were made just to "make money by documenting events where thousands of people died". Its just how movies work.

I saw United 93 and was pretty moved by it as well, and I will most likely end up seeing this movie.

I am very glad there is no political message behind it, because I think that would be wrong. Im glad to hear that Stone took out the Politics, because it would be wrong to put it in this movie.

im supposed to be seeing this movie with my family, it might be hard though to see it by me(meanin emotionally) because im from long island and alot of people from here died on 9/11(including my friends dad)

Yeah I can imagine thats pretty tough... sometimes you just have to count your blessings that all of your family is safe.

yea i was so glad that everyone in my family was safe that day, that day was so scary especially since i was only in 6th grade and didnt have a full concept on anything that was going on because the school didnt tell us anything, so i just had to wonder why everyone was being picked up early from school, until my parents came and picked me up

[play_mate]

Originally Posted by DChiTownD

Think about the most highly grossing film EVER, Titanic. People died, remember?

THnk about all of the War movies that have been made, many people died again.

I have to say then - This is probablyh a bad point of view but I watched Titanic and cried like a baby in the end - I didn't cry because I was hurt that so many people died though and it was a tragic event - I cried because it was portrayed as a love story. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

No, thats not harsh, it was just an example of a high-grossing movie which depicted death.
You can't say its wrong to make a movie about 9/11 just because it depicts death, and people make money off of that.
So I just used Titanic as an example, but a better example could be "Shindler's List", which I believe is the highest grossing WW2/Holocaust movie out there, definitely a lot of death depicted there.