WORLD TRADE CENTER—-some days after the 2001 destruction of the Twin Towers collapsed us into a daymare of endless wars and omnivorous surveillance, a co-worker of mine caustically mused “How long before some___(insert colorful expletive) makes a movie out of this?” I recall suggesting it would be a good while, given the shock fallout and political-emotional touchiness of the subject. My ‘dar’ was down: in fact the first ventures came within a year. Dozens have since touched on various aspects of the event; they range from affecting to asinine. As of 2024, no one has yet mounted a star-studded spectacle, for reasons of taste (good/bad), practicality (cost/recovery) and blowback/the certain flash-pointing of public and official opinions on what is true or bogus—about everything from freedom to free-falls. Even football...

When fire-breathing director Oliver Stone stepped up with this 2006 docudrama his critics (who wouldn’t give him a break if he saved their lives) presumed he’d deliver a screed (why not?) or go the theory route (abundant trails to pursue) or at least simply Bushwhack the conveniently oblivious government. He foxed ’em, instead taking a sober, straightforward look from the immediately impacted viewpoints of a few people at literal ground level (trapped and injured cops and frantic rescue workers) and the fear-wracked families of the policemen. The destruction isn’t played for cheap thrills, the excellent special effects are used only as a brief and necessary conduit to the bulk of a otherwise intimate and human-scaled story-line.

Manhattan, Sept 11, 2001. When airliners crash into the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, among the first responders are Port Authority policemen, a number of whom are caught in the debris when the South Tower collapses. Veteran Sgt. John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Officer Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) are badly injured, pinioned under slabs of concrete in a jumble of twisted metal, gouts of flame and choking dust. As dangerous rescue efforts get underway, their stunned wives Donna and Allyson (Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal) and families cling to slivers of hope.

Andrea Berloff’s smart screenplay and Stone’s tightly focused direction concentrate on the claustrophobia and agony-induced interplay between McLoughlin and Jimeno (Cage and Peña excel) and the wrenching suspense of those nearest to them, by relationship (wives, children, parents, siblings) or proximity (volunteer rescue workers). ‘Heroism’ (Everyman/Everywoman version) isn’t turned into a tacky commercial for vengeance or phony heart-stringing, but is shown as a moment-to-moment decision subject to summoned reserves of will and innate capacities for love, and is all the more moving as a result.

Accomplished for $65,000,000, achieving in North America a gross of $70,300,000 (37th in 2006) with $93,000,000 brought in internationally.

Fleshed out with a solid brace of no-nonsense supporting players: Michael Shannon, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley, Jon Bernthal, Jay Hernandez, Donna Murphy, Peter McRobbie, Viola Davis, Nicholas Turturro, Danny Nucci, William Mapother, Arthur Nascarelli, Ned Eisenberg, Patti D’Arbanville, Nicky Katt, Julie Adams (79, her last feature film). Craig Armstong composed the pensive score. 129 minutes.