Film: Oliver’s Story

THIS spring, shortly after the release of United 93, the cultural critic Ron Rosenbaum fretted that Hollywood’s interest in the heroism of Flight 93’s passengers might be “a symptom of our addiction to fables of redemptive uplift.” By swaddling the horror of 9/11 in the ennobling story of the flight that fought back, he suggested, we were telling ourselves a comforting lie about that day, and clinging to the delusion that “there must be a silver lining: It’s always darkest before the dawn; the human spirit will triumph over evil; there must be a pony.”

Well, forget the doomed flight and its heroic passengers-the true-to-life story told in Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, about two New York cops trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers and then borne up, like Ishmael from the wreck of the Pequod, to the comforting arms of their relieved families, is 9/11’s pony if I’ve ever seen one. World Trade Center is a movie about courage, endurance, faith, family, and the triumph of the human spirit. It’s the most conservative film of Oliver Stone’s career, both artistically and politically. It’s the September 11 movie you can take the whole family to see. And there’s something more than a little bogus about it.

About the Author

Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat is a former National Review contributing editor.

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THIS spring, shortly after the release of United 93, the cultural critic Ron Rosenbaum fretted that Hollywood’s interest in the heroism of Flight 93’s passengers might be “a symptom of our addiction to fables of redemptive uplift.” By swaddling the horror of 9/11 in the ennobling story of the flight that fought back, he suggested, we were telling ourselves a comforting lie about that day, and clinging to the delusion that “there must be a silver lining: It’s always darkest before the dawn; the human spirit will triumph over evil; there must be a pony.”

Well, forget the doomed flight and its heroic passengers-the true-to-life story told in Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, about two New York cops trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers and then borne up, like Ishmael from the wreck of the Pequod, to the comforting arms of their relieved families, is 9/11’s pony if I’ve ever seen one. World Trade Center is a movie about courage, endurance, faith, family, and the triumph of the human spirit. It’s the most conservative film of Oliver Stone’s career, both artistically and politically. It’s the September 11 movie you can take the whole family to see. And there’s something more than a little bogus about it.