Gwyneth Paltrow narrates the story of Welles Crowther, an equities trader known for saving at least ten lives during the September 11 attacks in New York City, during which he lost his own life. It includes interviews with Welles' parents and sisters, and many of the survivors whom Welles saved including Ling Young, Ed Nicholls, Donovan Cowan, Ron DiFrancesco, Richard Fern, Donna Spera and Kelly Reyher. It also includes interviews with former Fire Department of New York Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and architect Robert Siegel. Archival footage includes President Barack Obama at the World Trade Center Memorial's opening ceremony, honoring Crowther and introducing his mother to speak. Lyle Lovett arranged and recorded the film's original song "One Red Bandana", written by Stive Linek.
Production
Production began on April 11, 2011 and was finished May 2017.[2] It was written and directed by Matthew J. Weiss, produced by Weiss, Chad A. Verdi, and Joshua Sason, edited by Doug Forbes and Sam Eilertsen, and distributed by Verdi Productions. Its original score was composed by Mark Degli Antoni and David Bateman.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 8 critics, with an average of 6.12/10.[5]
Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called the film "a powerful and inspiring experience".[6] Nick Schager of Variety said that, "Despite its frustratingly crude formal construction, [the film] proves an equally sorrowful and stirring portrait of selflessness in the face of tragedy".[1]
Frank Lovece of Film Journal International felt the "emotionally devastating documentary ... falls apart toward the end when it loses all objectivity and descends into hagiography."[7]
Accolades
The film won the Grand Prize in the Humanitarian Category at the 2017 Rhode Island International Film Festival[8] and the People's Choice Award at the 2018 Niagara Falls International Film Festival.[9]
