Review: A Real-Life Tragedy on the Big Screen
by Jeremy Kelly • October 2, 2011 • Features • 0 Comments
By JEREMY KELLY
Nearly every year, Hollywood releases a slew of disaster films; they can concern manmade tragedies, such as “Titanic,” or acts of nature, such as “Deep Impact” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” Viewers are invariably drawn to these movies, and they’re bound to create astounding box office numbers.
But when it comes to true events, and specifically, very recent true events, is it wise for filmmakers to turn them into entertainment that we have to pay roughly $10 to see?
It’s been a little more than 10 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but already, there have been at least 12 fictionalized films based on the date that have been released in American theaters. These don’t include the films released in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, or films that have been aired on television, nor theatrical documentaries.
Regardless, subject matter like this has to be convincing. Even when the stories surrounding the day are fictional, they portray the attacks with care, blending actual news footage of the attacks with filmed movie footage. It’s the type of filmmaking that causes viewers to say to themselves, “I know exactly where I was when this happened.” It’s authentic and provocative.
“Even just from the news and clips, I think [the day] was captured pretty well. They didn’t just show you the sugar-coated version, they showed you everything,” said Jenna Moore, communication arts senior.
However, they aren’t all specifically about the attacks. “Bandhak” is about the issue of racism towards South Asians following Sept. 11. “AmericanEast” concerns Arab-Americans in Los Angeles after the attacks. “Reign Over Me” is a post-9/11 film about a man played by Adam Sandler who lost his wife and children.
The day captured
Paul Greengrass' "United 93" chronicles the fourth hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001.
At some point, though, there had to be a theatrical movie about the day. 2002 saw the release of an independent film called “Stairwell: Trapped in the World Trade Center,” which was about a group of people trapped in a sub-basement of the buildings during the attack. But perhaps the first film to gain widespread recognition was Paul Greengrass’ “United 93,” released in April 2006.
The film is about the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth airplane hijacked on the day. There’s a great human element in this film; we follow the passengers aboard the plane as they try to deal with the terrible situation as well as air traffic controllers on the ground. We see the phone calls and hear plenty of news reports as the passengers try to determine what they should do to survive. It doesn’t feel like a Hollywood movie; it feels real, almost frighteningly real. It takes itself seriously, and it pays tribute to the lives lost on that day.
August of the same year saw the release of Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” made on a much bigger budget and with much bigger stars. Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña play John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, two Port Authority police officers who were trapped in the collapse of the South Tower.
Unlike “United 93,” which took place during the crisis, only the first half-hour of “World Trade Center” features the attacks; the rest of the film is McLoughlin and Jimeno stuck underground while their families back home wait for word.
This film received far less universal acclaim. Again, I appreciate the human element in this movie; much time is spent at home, where the men’s wives, parents and children are waiting tensely, flashing through memories, wondering if they’ll ever see them alive again. Senior film student John Curcio shared some of my thoughts.
“I admire the fact that it tried to be about the humans rather than the event,” Curcio said. “However, it loses a grittiness that it should’ve had.” He also compares the film unfavorably to disaster films made by Irwin Allen in the 1970s, which include “The Poseidon Adventure,” “The Towering Inferno” and “The Swarm.” Allen would subsequently earn the nickname “The Master of Disaster.”
But this relates to certain issues I have with “World Trade Center.” As a movie, it’s decent, but that’s also a problem; it feels too much like a movie. The characters are basically going through the motions, and they don’t really leap off the screen; not to mention, it’s difficult to take an unorthodox actor like Cage seriously in a movie like this.
Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" features Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña as two Port Authority officers who become trapped in the remains of the South Tower.
Do these films go “too far”?
But because these events are so serious, not to mention so recent, should this topic be put on film? Film professor Tobin Addington recalled a firsthand reaction to news of the release of these movies.
“I remember seeing the trailer [for ‘United 93’] in the theater in New York, and some of the audience audibly gasped when they realized what it was about,” Addington said. “I don’t believe that film was insensitive to the victims. Paul Greengrass made it a point to get approval and cooperation from the families of every person who died on the flight. He claimed at the time that he wouldn’t have made the film if any one of them had not given permission.”
In the case of 2010’s “Remember Me,” simply the conclusion of the movie alludes to Sept. 11, without giving away exactly how it ends. It created controversy among critics; Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine called the ending “shockingly offensive,” while Lisa Kennedy of the Denver Post stated in her review, “The finale manages to be tasteful and exploitative at the same time.” Boo Allen of the Denton Record-Chronicle was scathing in his review, stating, “‘Remember Me’ wallows deepest in shame by concluding its treacly treatise by drawing on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a final plea for emotion. Unforgivable.” As for audiences, Moore was also unimpressed by the ending.
“I think if you’re making an informational movie about [Sept. 11], that’s fine,” Moore said. “But to have it as a surprise ending, I thought it was rude, in a sense. I don’t think you should take true events and have it be the ending of a fictionalized movie.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2002 film “Stairwell: Trapped in the World Trade Center.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2003 film “Bandhak.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2005 film “WTC View.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2006 film “United 93.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2006 film “The 9/11 Commission Report.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2006 film “World Trade Center.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2007 film “Reign Over Me.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2008 film “AmericanEast.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2009 film “Amreeka.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2010 film “Remember Me.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2010 film “The Space Between.”
Click here for the trailer to the 2010 film “Mooz-lum.”
Relates Story: