Movie critic says ‘United 93’ ends in darkness, ‘World Trade Center’ appears uplifting
Almost five years passed before Hollywood approached the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. The result was two excellent but very different films. One – Paul Greengrass’ “United 93” – ends in darkness, the other -Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center” – in light.
With “United 93,” Greengrass (“The Bourne Supremacy”), a British filmmaker, blends fact and speculation in a tale of the brave crew members and 40 passengers who prevented a Boeing 757 from striking Washington, D.C., on 9/11, and tragically, all died in the process.
People have been debating whether the R-rated picture, which was released to theaters in April and is now available on DVD, arrived too soon on the big screen.
After sitting through “United 93,” which is told in real time, a viewer doesn’t walk away wondering whether people should see it. He or she feels that it must be seen.
“United 93” must also be discussed, debated and – most importantly – learned from. Told with sensitivity, the film serves as a chilling reminder of the events of that tragic day and a warning that such a terrorist attack could happen again unless all Americans remain vigilant.
Greengrass, who received permission from all of the families involved to tell the story of their loved ones’ final moments, creates three story lines. One follows the reactions of air-traffic controllers. The second chronicles the inaction of the military, which is frighteningly unprepared to process the scope of the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.
The third recreates the actions of the people on United Airlines Flight 93 who ultimately learn the truth (via phone calls from loved ones) about the real reason behind the hijacking, bravely band together to fight the crazed terrorists onboard and cause the jet to crash in Shanksville, Pa., before the aircraft can reach its intended target.
Greengrass maintains an edgy mood throughout “United 93.” He proves particularly adept at that during the hijacking scenes when using hand-held cameras to disorient viewers and help them identify with the feelings of the passengers as they storm the cockpit with anger and resolve. (A modestly budgeted TV movie, “Flight 93,” rated PG-13, covered similar territory and is also available on DVD.)
In “United 93,” the attack of the hijackers on the pilots and flight attendants is shown in graphic detail as the terrorists use box cutters and similar items as instruments of death. Greengrass avoided stars for the $20 million production, preferring to use unknown performers to play the people whom the viewers come to care so much about in very limited time.
“United 93” ultimately leaves the people watching it heartbroken by the loss of those sacrificed on Sept. 11 and uplifted by the images of ordinary citizens who become extraordinary ones while striking out against monsters devoted to the destruction of America.
While Greengrass’ film has the travelers and the terrorists facing each other and fighting, the officers buried under the rubble when the towers collapse in “World Trade Center” never see their enemies.
Stone sidesteps his usual confrontational filmmaking approach and plays it very straight with a traditional search-and-rescue epic about two Port Authority police officers buried in debris after the terrorist attack.
Stone, best known for incendiary works such as “JFK” and “Natural Born Killers,” wears his heart on his sleeve while using a $63 million budget to chronicle the incredible story of officers John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena).
In the fact-based tale, now in theaters, McLoughlin, Jimeno and three other heroic officers run into the Twin Towers to try to rescue those inside. They are met by a crumbling mass that takes the lives of the others and leaves McLoughlin and Jimeno under tons of rubble with little chance of ever seeing their loved ones again.
Stone, a Vietnam veteran who won an Oscar as best director for the semiautobiographical “Platoon” (1986), respectfully presents the Ground Zero area as a war zone. Through digital recreations and complicated sets, he places audience members in the midst of the tragedy.
For some, the PG-13 picture may prove too unsettling and frightening as the filmmaker takes his cameras below the surface to the spots where McLoughlin and Jimeno talk to help each other stay awake and make noise in the hope that someone will hear them.
Although a tone of sadness runs through Stone’s film, the climax boasts deeply joyful touches as the two men with broken bodies but unyielding spirits are lifted from the depths by firefighters, police officers, military members and emergency workers who put their lives on the line by volunteering to venture into the unstable rubble.
The motion picture parallels the desperate plight of the two officers with the anxiety and fear being felt by their wives, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and relatives.
“World Trade Center” isn’t as intense as “United 93,” which in my estimation ranks as the best film so far in 2006, but audience members may be overcome by the uplifting final moment created by Stone. The scene shows Cage’s McLoughlin being placed on a stretcher and passed along by the real first responders who were actually there on a historic day that showed our enemies at their very worst and our Ground Zero heroes at their absolute best.