Featured Image Credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Topics: Film and TV, News, US News, Terrorism, New York
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Film and TV, News, US News, Terrorism, New York
On the anniversary of 9/11, people are flocking to social media to highlight a movie they feel perfectly depicts the harrowing day.
Today (11 September) marks 23 years since nearly 3,000 people lost their lives as a result of four co-ordinated al-Qaeda attacks against the US.
While Americans gather around the country to commemorate loved ones, some are also reflecting on the deadliest terror attack by watching one particular movie, which has been praised for capturing the 'immediate mood of New York City' in the days following the attacks.
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25th Hour - directed by Spike Lee and based on David Benioff's book of the same name - follows the journey of Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) as he's about to go to prison to serve a seven-year sentence for dealing drugs.
While the movie isn't directly centred around the events of 9/11, the drama unfolds in the days after the attacks and has been praised for how it captures the 'feel and heartbreak that convulsed the city'.
Some movies released in the wake of the tragedy indeed cut out images of the World Trade Center, but Lee did the opposite.
In an interview with GQ in 2022, he said: "Like New Yorkers or Americans aren’t strong enough to see the image of the World Trade Center anymore, which I thought was f**king ridiculous. I thought that was weak."
In 25th Hour, Lee instead made New York City's grieving 'a character' within the film.
"I always felt art should reflect what's happening at the time. I was not going to run from that stuff. Hell no," he continued to tell GQ.
However, that doesn't mean Lee didn't proceed with extreme caution when trying to portray the aftermath of 9/11, telling The New York Times he knew it was 'still very painful' and 'will always be very painful for those who lost people'.
And people connected to the tragic day have appreciated Lee's filmmaking ever since and still talk about the film several years on from its release.
A Twitter user wrote last year: "I am sure there are movies which more effectively and comprehensively address #Sept11th but I don’t know if there is a film that better captures the immediate mood of New York City post-9/11 better than Spike Lee’s The 25th Hour."
Another said: "The music and visuals of the opening credits of 25th Hour directed by Spike Lee perfectly captures the feel and heartbreak that convulsed the city in the days and weeks afterwards. The pain that permeated the city in the aftermath was so palpable it was indescribable."
And people have flocked to social media once more to speak out about the film on the anniversary of 9/11.
"As we head towards 9/11, my husband+I rather randomly watched 25th Hour directed by Spike Lee," someone penned.
"As native New Yorkers, ones who were right in the eye of that nightmare nearly [23] years ago, can't say I've seen a more powerful depiction of that moment. Essential viewing."
A second said: "Somehow less than a year after it happened, 25th Hour is the only film to accurately depict Post 9/11 America and make it interesting."