What's the problem with WORLD TRADE CENTER?

I'm bucking the trend regarding this Oliver Stone patriotic love-fest and am going to basically pan this movie. If this offends your post-9/11 sensibilities in some way, or if you live in a Red State and wake up with FOX-News blaring on your TV set, then I suggest you read no further. If you want an unbiased opinion on this film, by a person who is a political independent, then by all means press-on.

OK, steady yourself, for here it comes:

This film would make a pretty good TV movie on ABC, but as a theatrical release, it's sorely lacking. It's not from lack of trying, or good material: the special effects are terrific, Nic Cage is unusually good, and the real-life story is compelling and uplifting.

The problem is that this particular story can't sustain a 2 hour film. The first half-hour is admittedly great: suspenseful, moving, horrifying, fascinating. The last fifteen minutes are great: life-affirming, patriotic without being cloying, with a happy ending to a cruel and tragic event.

But the middle hour and a half is, simply put, singularly dull and uninteresting. There's bascically two stories at play: the tale of the two men tapped in the rubble, and the tale of the families awaiting the men's fate. Both lose momentum quickly after the buildings collapse.

The dialogue between the men might be realistic (it's based on an actual event), but it's VERY slowly-paced; the pauses between lines seem to last forever. And while the tale is by nature a sad one, I think their dialogue could have used a bit more humor to move it along, and further humanize the characters. Really, the only humorous dialogue between them was Cage's mentioning of his wife's kitchen project, and one could sense the audience's relief when those lines brought a few laughs. More of that sort of thing could have done wonders with those sequences. Less pauses and groans of discomfort would have helped as well.

Sure, maybe the two men didn't joke around much in reality, and maybe they were in tremendous pain from their injuries, but this is a MOVIE, not a documentary film, and a few minor liberties for the sake of momentum are usually accepted (and welcomed). And I bet, really, that they DID share a few jokey moments--there's often a 'dark humor' present in such situations (like in combat, or in an Emergency Room) that comes out when the mood gets too dark, or the participants too depressed.

But the real problem in WTC lies with the homefront. I'm sorry, but those sequences played very flat for me; the dialogue wooden; the situations uninteresting. I'm sure it didn't have to be that way, but those scenes had a real 'TV' quality to them, without any sense of purpose or urgency. I expect that on Lifetime; I don't expect it in a theater from one of the best directors of the last 20 years.

A lot of it seemed like 'filler.' While the tale of these two men was important, it simply wasn't enough to fill an entire film. What WTC needed was another story thread or two. Show us more of what happened before the attack; show us more of the response (aside from the TV coverage); give us more detail on that Marine who came to help out (he's the best thing in the film as it is). Give us something to substitute for those slow parts in the middle.

I can't help but feel that people are afraid to criticise this film as inferior movie-making, but honestly, that's what it is: a missed opportunity by a talented director about one of the worst yet most dramatic days in United States' history.

Someday someone will make the definitive 9/11 film, probably as a multi-storylined film like THE LONGEST DAY. Until then, the first half-hour of WTC hints at what THAT film could be.

What's so great about SHOPGIRL?

I recently 'Netflixed' this film in an effort to assuage my wife, who often complains that the movies I put on our list are either 1) Obscure 2) In a foreign language 3) In Black & White or 4) Obscure, In a foreign language, and In Black & White.

So I make sure that, occasionally, a Must Love Dogs appears on our list (which is a horrible and contrived picture, I might add), or something of a similar ilk like Hitch. I must admit that it only seems fair since she has stuck with me through Metropolis and Wings of Desire. Oh--and M. Almost forgot that one.

So Shopgirl it was. I knew it was a Steve Martin creation, starring him, Jason Schwarzman, and Claire Danes, but what I did not know was that it was not, as I had assumed, some routine, testosterone-killing chick-flick, but rather a leisurely-paced, thoughtful character study of three person's views of love and relationships.

And it was unexpectedly good. The film it most reminds me of is Lost in Translation, another picture with a leisurely pace, lingering visuals, and wry sense of humor. But Shopgirl, to my mind, is the superior picture. It's difficult to explain it, but it's one of those films where the music and visuals achieve an effortless poetry without being showy; without drawing attention to themselves. The camera moves slowly; the editing contains more long shots in five minutes than most films, in the post-MTV, hyper-kinetic era contain in their entirety. The acting is naturalistic, avoiding any bombastic moments, with the ending being literal under-stated perfection.

It's not for everyone. Most will find it slow; some will wonder what the heck it's about, since the plot is rather minimal until the ending; and others will be disappointed that Martin, playing against type, seems rather staid and dull.

But it works. One of its great strengths is the musical score--if anyone wants a primer on how to unobtrusively score a film and yet have the music seem almost a character, then they need to watch this one. Again, it's difficult to put into words. I guess you'll just have to experience it. But though it seems slow, and though one wonders what it's all about, if you stick around for the last scene outside the art gallery, you'll get the pay-off in one of the quietist, most moving farewells in screen history (again, just like Translation).

It's worth the wait. But since Shopgirl turned out to be anything but a routine 'chick-flick,' I now realize that I need to find a suitable replacement to watch with my wife.

Is Failure to Launch any good?