Generally the first ten minutes of film were showing the ordinary things that people got up to in a typical September day in NYC. There shots of people going to work by buses, ferries, trains and cars. We also see some focus on the main characters i.e. the five officers that go in to the building to try and rescue some people. This shots show us that no one had any idea that a plane was going to fly into the WTC or that some people were going to be dead in a couple of hours. They were just focusing on ordinary things they were going to get up to that day.
There was a shot of Will Jimeno leaving his house to go to work. Stone wanted to show us this in order for us to understand that he was now leaving from comfort and protection of his family and home. So now he was exposed to the open world. When Jimeno gets to his truck to go to work the day starts to get brighter and when he was near NYC diagetic music from radio starts to play. There was also a long establishing shot of NYC showing the date of the day. Stone chose to show the date because he wanted the viewers to be ready to face and watch the characters go through their worst day of their lives. However the music plating seemed rather happy and bubbly. The desired effect from this was to make the audience wary that none of these characters know what was about to happen. Hence the use of this creates dramatic irony which creates more tension on the spectators.
One thing that caught my eye when I saw the whole film was that Stone only showed the Twin Towers standing tall only a couple of times. One of them was during this time. I assume the director chose not to show them more than that because they will be history that day so why even bother showing them. But I think some people believe that it was for technical reasons or may be because he doesn’t want to trigger any unwanted emotion on the audience due to showing them.
The following 10 minutes spanned from the officers getting to their assigned jobs to the point where some of them were about to go into the towers. These 10 minutes starts with a couple of officers going into the Port Authority station. Jon was there at the reception desk of the station staring at a crying girl who was sitting and next to her an officer comforting the girl. Jon seemed to focus on her on her for some time and the clip also was slowed down for that time. I believe this moment was used as a foreshadowing of what was to come: over 3000 children were left without their parents(s) due to the attacks. Moreover, the moment was slowed down in order for the viewer to understand that, the moment was stuck in McGlocklin’s memory.
In the scene where all the officers were in a room getting assigned to their jobs the director used a high angle shot. This shot might well have been used so that Stone can show us all of their faces at ones. Nevertheless I think Stone used this shot to express to the viewers that even though the police have all the authority and power, it was useless to prevent the events that they were going to face that day. Moreover, it shows us that this event was so unexpected, therefore it was hard to save the people that perished during this event.
While Jimeno was duty patrolling the train station, a woman was talking to him who needed help with some directions. Soon we see all the characters in the screen look up and out of the blue a shadow of dangerously low flying plane flashes past the screen. Close up camera shots were then used to show the clear expressions shown by the characters in response to the unusual sight. Nevertheless you don’t see the plane flying in to the tower. This could have been because of ethical or technical reasons. Additionally a sombre non-diagetic music was being played as the plane when the people where looking at it. This signified the sadness and disappointment that flooded through every one the point that plane flew in to the tower. Moreover we were shown a police station near the towers shaking as the plane came into contact with the tower. This suggests that these attacks rocked everybody emotionally and physically even the police.
The director chose pictures of the dilapidated tower on TV when some officers were watching it while trying to make any sense of it. Stone, I believe chose to show a clip of genuine pictures shown news that day so that someone can say “Oh! I remember watching that” and trigger memories that were put aside. Another thing I picked up on was that the officers were from a number of races. This might signifies the community of New York and its cultural diversity. However, I take it as it was meant to signify the 2,605 people that died on the WTC attacks were from 90 different cultural backgrounds, so it mirrors the officers in that station.
The officers were then called to go near the towers on a bus so that they can get one with the rescue operations. On their way there they see a man on the ground being attended by medics with an oxygen mask on. He picture seemed to slow down for that moment and the camera panned across the officers faces closely looking out the window. The close up shot was used again to capture the emotions that were running through their faces and panning was utilized to compare their expressions which were but to no surprise they were exactly the same. This signifies that even though everyone was different, at this moment of time everyone was united by this ghastly experience. Slow and sombre non-diagetic music was played t go with the pictures and really set the tone for the rest of the film. A very deep but quiet “duff” sound was heard that made Jimeno snap out of that state of mind. This was the sound of someone hitting the ground after jumping of the building.
While the officers got off the bus the officers looked up and a low over-the shoulder shot was used to show us someone jumping off the tower. This made me cringe and I wanted to shout “STOP!” It was as if it was happening in reality; the use of the over the shoulder shot made me feel like I was there looking from their perspective. McGlocklin played by Nicholas Cage interrupting the moment asks if anyone would volunteer to go in to the towers with him. Will was first to jump and say “I got it Sarge”. His tone and his expressions in his faces suggested that he knows he was scared but he was determined to hide it and prove his bravery. The pride of being an officer over-ruled his fear which nearly costs him his life at the end.
Just as McGlocklin was going into the tower sees a woman screaming with a bleeding face. The scene appeared to slow down for a moment and all the sound was blocked out except the sounds of siren and walkie talkies. The moment being slowing down hints that this particular image was what was stuck in his memories and it will be there forever. Furthermore the sounds of the sirens and walkie talkies give the impression to the viewer that everyone was not going to give up or admit defeat even though hundreds of people were dying.
When they where in they got to the concourse an establishing shot was used helping us to know where exactly they were as this plays a big part later in the film. Stone soon after decides to show close up shots of the people who have survived from the first attack. The officers were going past them so the director also chose to pan across the people in order to make that known. The close up shots were moreover utilised so that we can sympathise for them looking from their grimaced expressions. Non-diagetic sad music was being played during this time: used to set the mood for that particular moment and also as an accompaniment for the picture that was being shown. On top of that there was additionally there were frequent sounds of sirens, therefore you could sense the urgency and the tension rising as the towers were going to collapse and minute now.
Furthermore as McGlocklin and the other left Will on his own there was a peculiar moment. It goes all quite denoting Will was trying to block the sounds and we see the camera focused on him intently This showed us how much focused he was on trying to block on the noises and have a moment for him to reflect on his day. Meanwhile he says a little prayer however after a loud deep “duff” sound startles him the same way when he was in the bus. This time it was also a person hitting the ground after jumping off a tower. Immediately an officer comes in and starts to talk to him. Will was still drowsy so it took him some time to respond to question. Stone chose to use over shoulder shots during their dialogue. This makes the audience perceive it from the characters mindset. When they were finished the officer turns his back on him and tells him he was off to tower 2 which was just about to collapse. Surely if he goes in to that tower he was going to die. Therefore I believe for this reason the director chose to fix the camera on him as he walked away.
On top of that the same situation happens when the other officers join Will and meet some fire fighters on their way. These fire fighters similarly were going to tower 2. Unfortunately again the camera was fixed on them when they were walking away after they finished their conversation. Straight away after the fire fighter left the concourse low angle shot was used to show the sense of authority when McGlocklin’s boss who was just outside looking at the towers was talking to him through the walkie talkie looking up at probably the tower collapsing. During that scene the camera tracked towards McGlocklin’s boss quickly to add emphasis on the scene which was just 5 seconds long. The towers then unsurprisingly collapse engulfing all the people inside. When the rubbles were coming towards them the shots went long and gradually went to close to show the emotions in their faces in response to it as the rubbles was getting closer.
In summary I think the first 25 minutes of the film were quite interesting piece of directing to say the least. Especially the first 10 minutes, they set the milestone for the rest of the film. As well as that these 10 minutes appeared to be so serene and ordinary hence they made the next hectic 15 minutes look more dramatic than they were. There Oliver Stone really used these opening 10 minutes as a leaping stone to really make the film seem climactic. Notwithstanding the thing I didn’t really appreciate was the reaction of the people after the attacks especially the officers. They all gave the impression that they were calm which was the least thing you would expect to see on people’s faces at that time. You would certainly expect them to be very panicky and hectic as well. Furthermore one thing I really liked about the opening was that I think Stone captured the real spirit of America by choosing to focus on the heroism. Even though there was real danger out there they still refused to admit defeat, sit down and sob about it. It was the contrary, the stuck together and fought against it. By including the sounds of sirens and walkie talkies Stone showed that USA never gave up, they showed the will to fight. Nevertheless some people think otherwise. They believe it's the lack of political bite that was one of World Trade Center's weakest elements. Therefore this made it seem heavily biased towards the entire “Heroism” theme and an overly sentimental, sluggish bore. They felt he needed to show us the real deal.
Oliver Stone did a good job on these first 25 minutes but the rest of the film needed a bit more work. I thought these 25 minutes were the most enjoyable and gripping part of the film but the rest was a bit dry. However what the film does convey effectively was the sheer confusion in the period following the first plane hitting. As McGlocklin and his men enter the World Trade Center to help in the evacuation, they aren't even aware the second tower has been struck. After the film's most unsettling moments as it shows the tower collapsing all around, McGlocklin and Jimeno find themselves trapped under an avalanche of rubble. Therefore all credit to Stone and all the characters.