Oliver Stone submerges us in the suffering endured by the first responders to 9/11, and in doing so he elicits our sympathy, our sorrow and even our tears. Yet the movie offers very little in return. Nicolas Cage brings a grim authenticity to the role of a real-life police officer who was buried for 12 hours beneath the rubble, but the picture explores little beyond his – and his waiting wife’s – pain. All of which raises the question: Is there value in suffering by proxy?
