The Guys (2002)

The Guys: Directed by Jim Simpson. With Sigourney Weaver, Anthony LaPaglia, Irene Walsh, Jim Simpson. The story of a fire captain who lost eight men in the collapse of the World Trade Center and the editor who helps him prepare the eulogies he must deliver.

“One of the most compelling ways to tell a story is to let it tell itself, without embellishment. In The Guys, Anne Nelsonu0026#39;s story does just that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThe events of September 11, 2001 are a very volatile subject; Nelsonu0026#39;s story stays focused on how to talk about firefighters lost in one engine company at the World Trade Center. It humanizes the event and the emotional aftershock and side steps everything else. Simpson skillfully blends voice-over, text, storytelling, simulated archive footage, along with traditional film-making, keeping the spirit of the original stage play intact. It would be easy to tell such a tale with force fed melodrama, but instead, the audience is allowed breathing room to process right along with the characters on the screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThrough sheer providence a journalist, was asked to assist a Fire Department captain to write eight eulogies for men lost on September 11. Itu0026#39;s all told primarily through La Paglia and Weaver, who both turn in solid performances. Weaver embodies everyone who is the voice of every thought ricocheting through the head of everyone whou0026#39;s not directly effected. La Pagliau0026#39;s delivers an understated but eloquent performance of a man who canu0026#39;t afford the luxury of his own grief; through La Paglia, we see struggling to find a voice for the unspeakable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is a lot to be said on the subject of September 11; this film is a reminder of perspective.”