This is a tough movie to sit through. “Intense” is an understatement. It brings back all the horror, puzzlement, and shock of 9/11, and then it becomes oh, so personal.
John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) begins this day like any other: awake at 3:30 a.m., he stumbles to get dressed in the dark without waking his sleeping wife (Maria Bello). He quietly looks in on his four children, all snug in their beds, before he takes the George Washington Bridge into the City, where he works as a Port Authority policeman. He’s a veteran sergeant. He sees himself as a true professional: someone who rarely smiles, who is all business. He thinks that a certain amount of distance from his men is necessary for them to maintain proper respect for his rank.”
On this particular morning, he barks instructions to his gathered patrol officers, to be on the lookout for this runaway, watch out for that particular panhandler. Routine stuff. But 9/11/01 was going to be anything but routine. The Port Authority police were some of the first officials at the scene. Sgt. McLoughlin’s unit arrives after the first plane hit, but before the second one. They march resolutely into the burning building, thinking they’re on a rescue mission, unaware that the disaster will suddenly and dramatically overtake them.
Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) is a member of Sgt. McLoughlin’s team, destined for a fiery destruction. The first big implosion claims most of their unit, leaving John and Will helplessly pinned underneath the jagged concrete rubble. This will turn out to be their protection, as subsequent explosions rain debris on the hapless survivors. It soon becomes apparent to the two men that they are the only ones left. They can’t see each other, but they can hear one another. Speaking is an effort for both of them, because both are hurting, and neither is able to assess the extent of personal injury. There is no communication with the outside. They only have each other, not knowing what hit them, only waiting for a rescue effort that may or may not come.
Meanwhile, America’s largest metropolis is in complete chaos, while the world watches in stunned silence, and families of victims frantically seek information that isn’t forthcoming, spending increasingly anxious moments in exasperating family vigils.
In “World Trade Center,” Oliver Stone skips the political part. No visiting the corridors of power, or even the underground lairs of terrorists, to be “on the inside” of the decision-making. No, this is about everyday people struggling and coping with events beyond their control or even their reckoning. Even now, five years later, it’s still mind-boggling. But the film is about the wanton destruction, and the visibly shaken; the air covered with ash and litter, and the faces of the children registering the unguarded fear of their mothers. It’s somber and sobering. It’s also high-impact. Viewers will feel as if they’ve lived through it all over again, and many will not want to avail themselves of the experience. But this is a movie that will not be easily ignored.
Questions For Discussion:
1) Is it “too early” to revisit this tragedy?
2) How has America changed since 9/11?
3) How has the world changed since 9/11?
4) Do you think vengeance belongs to the Lord? (Romans 12:19) If not, then to whom does it belong?
Ron Salfen is pastor, First Church, Terrell, Texas.
