9/11
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Misguided drama includes real-life attack footage.
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9/11
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What's the Story?
In the movie 9/11, wealthy Wall Street trader Jeffrey Cage (Charlie Sheen) heads to the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, to finalize his divorce from Eve (Gina Gershon), even though he wants to reconcile. Bike messenger Michael (Wood Harris) is there to make a delivery, Tina (Olga Fonda) has gone to break up with her sugar daddy, and custodial engineer Eddie (Luis Guzman) is headed to unclog a toilet. All five characters are on the same elevator when the first plane hits the building, trapping them inside. At the control desk, Metzie (Whoopi Goldberg) does her best to help them. But meanwhile, their personal demons begin to emerge during the tense hours in the ever-more-precarious elevator.
Is It Any Good?
Not the out-and-out disaster it looked to be, this well-meaning 9/11 drama is instead overwrought and acerbic and doesn't really make the connection between its fictional situation and the real one. Using the title 9/11 is part of the problem, as that suggests a bigger-picture story than we actually get. Writer Patrick Carson also used the story for a play, entitled Elevator, which was performed in 2011; perhaps it would have been better left in that format. Director Martin Guigu's attempts to expand the story with real-life footage of the attacks is honorable but misguided.
As good as some of these actors are, the way they rush into "deeply meaningful" conversation is somewhat absurd, even though their dialogue is balanced by the occasional ordinary chit-chat. Co-producer/top-billed star Charlie Sheen tries to steal scenes from time to time, and his efforts don't add much to the whole. Some controversy arose over his casting, given his past "truther" remarks -- although, to be fair, in a more recent interview in the Hollywood Reporter, he has apologized. Bottom line? We should never forget 9/11, but it might be a good idea to forget this movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about 9/11's violence. How are the terrible real-life events of that day combined with the story's fictitious violence? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
What exactly happened on 9/11? How did America and Americans react to it? How did things change afterward?
How does Michael, the bicycle messenger, talk about race? Why do you think this continues to be a complicated issue?
Movie Details
- In theaters: September 8, 2017
- On DVD or streaming: January 16, 2018
- Cast: Charlie Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, Luis Guzman
- Director: Martin Guigui
- Inclusion Information: Latinx directors, Black actors, Latinx actors
- Studio: Atlas Distribution
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: History
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: language
- Last updated: March 29, 2023
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