World Trade Center film analysis and cultural impact

World Trade

Oliver Stone's 2006 film World Trade Center does not intend to be a documentary. However, many of the main characters and events portrayed in the movie are directly derived from the actual events that took place on September 11, 2001. The film focuses not on the political issues that characterize the terrorist attacks. In fact, Stone does not even dramatize the planes crashing into the buildings and the subsequent reaction on the streets as much as the filmmaker might have. World Trade Center focuses on the experiences of a small group of men: most of whom are firefighters or police. The men become trapped in the south tower of the World Trade Center after the collapse, and the film details their struggles for survival.

World Trade Center opens before the first plane hits, allowing the audience to get to know its main characters John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), who are Port Authority police officers. The officers are shown with their wives, to underscore their humanity and engender the audience's sympathy. Once the disaster unfolds, the officers rush to help out of a sense of personal and professional duty. In fact, before the planes hit, McLoughlin starts the day like any other. He gives a routine pep talk to his officers and asks them to "watch each others' backs." Watching each other's back becomes one of the main themes explored in World Trade Center.

When the first plane hit, shock envelops New York City, as it did in real life. The officers are not immune from feeling the personal terror at seeing the plane hit, and understanding the extent of the impending death toll. McLoughlin points out that as officers, they are prepared to meet a lot of disasters but nothing of this scale has ever entered their consciousness. They are caught off guard, unprepared for a disaster of this proportion. Yet the officers dig deep and draw upon their training and their sense of duty in order to save lives.

The spirit of selfless service continues, as the officers battle between their own survival and their duty to save others. While they have wives and personal lives outside of the force, their duty as officers is to do whatever it takes to survive. Their survival story becomes more focused on them, as they are isolated from the rest of the force when they are trapped McLoughlin and Jimeno are joined by a few other officers including Dominick Pezzulo (Jay Hernandez). At the time of their arrival, the south tower still stands. The building starts to collapse with the men still inside, trapping them and creating the crux of the cinematic drama.

The bulk of World Trade Center takes place inside the collapsed building, and depicts the reactions of the three main characters. As the debris falls around them, McLoughlin and Jimeno are both trapped under rubble. Pezzulo attempts to rescue them, and is injured in the process. At the end of the movie, a United States Marine comes to the rescue. Names David Karnes (Michael J. Shannon), he eventually brings McLoughlin and Jimeno out but Pezzulo has already died.

Stone portrays the family members as well, showing how the disaster affected those inside and outside of the buildings. Because the film focuses on firemen and police officers, the theme of bravery is central to World Trade Center. The film focuses more on how McLoughlin, Jimeno, and Pezzulo deal with the crisis, but also shows the shock and terror felt by their loved ones.

McLoughlin emerges as the star, as Cage enjoys the most screen time. Indeed, the police sergeant is a true leader who motivates a team of men through the disaster. His ability to deal with the crisis is inspiring and in fact, McLoughlin does help save Jimeno's life by continually talking to him in order to prevent him from falling unconscious. Although McLoughlin was completely unprepared for a disaster of the proportion of September 11, he rises to the occasion and comes out a hero. His experience is therefore quite different from that of Karnes, the Marine with the correspondingly gung-ho attitude who rushes into the building towards the end. Karnes seems to have fewer emotional crises than any of the other characters, who go through ups and downs as they face their own mortality.