MovieChat Forums > The Guys (2003) Discussion > The Guys ... A poignant tribute to 9/11

The Guys ... A poignant tribute to 9/11

posted 17 years ago by mloessel
6 replies | jump to latest

Both Weaver and LaPaglia did a great job of portraying their respecitve characters. It's a very simple pseudo doc involving the Fire Captain of a NYPD Ladder Company and the writer/editor who helps him write his 8 eulogies. The eulogies are for the 8 Firefighters who died on 9/11 following the terrorist attack on New York's World Trade Towers.
As the movie progresses you learn about the daily lives and personalities of the firefighters. You listen to Nick (LaPaglia) talk about each of the 8 firefighters and watch how Joan (Weaver) gently probes for more information at the same time taking notes. She has a monumental task of capturing those keywords and phrases and he has the difficult task of remembering. What got my attention is how LaPaglia embraces his character. He had me believing he was a seasoned Fire Captain who needed some help to do a most unpleasant job. Joan helps him get focused and remember the details. For example when Nick talks about life as a "probie" (a firefighter in probation) Joan asks him to further explain this process. Such detail allows Nick to focus on the life of a firefighter and less on the emotion connected to 9/11.
Although this movie is a dramatization there is a feeling of or sense of realism. Once I embraced the characters I forgot LaPaglia was not an actor playing a Fire Captain and Weaver was not an editor helping him write. This movie offers a sobering reality to the life of firefighers and the ultimate price each one may pay...
Ona scale of 1-5 ... 5 being high ... I rate this movie 5 !!!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] georgiemyler 15 years ago

I think this is the best '9/11' film I've seen. World Trade Center, United 93, and Flight 93 are all good, but this one....it was just so powerful. The images of those pieces of paper fluttering down onto the street outside the firehouse were amazing, really poignant. Anthony LaPaglia was great, have only seen him in Frasier and Without a Trace before, and the emotion he conveyed in this was amazing. I also liked that there were no political or religious messages in the film. Nothing about why what happened that day happened, or about the war on terror etc etc. Nothing about God or Allah etc. It was just a film about these ordinary men who answered the call, saved thousands of lives, and never came home. Really brought home the tragedy and loss of that day.
Sigourney Weaver was amazing too, I thought it was very interesting how deeply affected she was, and I loved that line at the beginning 'my beautiful, wounded city', and the part at the end about how she wished it could all go in reverse and everything be fine again.
I liked how the firemen were just 'the guys' too, just ordinary guys in an extraordinary situation.
Had a big ol' lump in my throat at the end.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] psdhart 15 years ago

good film, a more "quieter" september 11th film
(not that the other ones were not good)

[–] KAnnD86 14 years ago

Agree. It was sad, but I love it. There is no other movie like it.

Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!

[–] lionheart2004 14 years ago

Wow this movie is so much more special to me than any of the others about 9/11.

Just the simple story about the real guys who went to work in the morning and never came home.