The story of Welles Remy Crowther, who is credited with saving lives in the south tower of the World Trade Center before he was killed in its collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, is an inspiring story of heroism — a story that has already touched thousands of people, thanks to his parents’ efforts to preserve his memory.
His story is worthy of a good telling, one that captures his selfless act and its lasting impact. Alas, the documentary “Man in Red Bandana” is not a good telling, but a hamfisted, amateurish movie that may turn off viewers who would otherwise be touched by Crowther’s bravery.
Crowther grew up in Nyack, N.Y., and trained as a teen with the local fire department, even appearing in dress uniform with the department’s vintage engine in parades. He played hockey and lacrosse in high school, and lacrosse for Boston College. After graduating, he landed a job at a financial firm, with an office high up the World Trade Center.
Crowther was above the “death zone” where United Airlines flight 175 hit the south tower, 17 minutes after American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower. After the towers collapsed, stories started to emerge from survivors about a man leading them from the fiery 78th floor to the last accessible stairway to the ground floor. The man wore a red bandanna over his nose and mouth to filter the smoke and dust.
Alison Crowther read these accounts and knew the man was her son, Welles. She contacted a few survivors, who verified this. All told, 18 people above the 78th floor made it out of the south tower, and 10 of them credit the man in the red bandanna with saving them.
Crowther, the family believes, had gone up and down that stairway a few times, helping other people. He was in the lobby, ready to head back up the stairs along with first responders, when the tower collapsed. His body was recovered months later.
The movie’s director, Michael Weiss, is a New York attorney whose banker was Welles’ father, Jeff. Hearing about Welles’ story (as Weiss tells it in a Q&A during the closing credits), Weiss says he was compelled to make a documentary about it.
Weiss, unfortunately, missed the film-school class where they teach fledgling documentarians not to overuse footage of the events of 9/11. In the movie’s opening half-hour, he uses practically every available clip of planes hitting the two towers, repeating some of them.
Misusing that footage, images that outlets like CNN have learned to use sparingly, feels like exploitation. The effect is an excruciating assault on our eyeballs and to the psyches of anyone who watched the news as it happened that horrible day.
The movie’s second half is a compilation of the many tributes given to Crowther’s memory, from fire-station plaques to a Boston 5K run, many of them spurred by the charitable foundation Crowther’s parents created in his memory. These passages give the impression that Weiss realized he had enough material for a 30-minute short, but wanted to pad the running time to feature length.
There are plenty of ways to honor Welles Crowther’s memory, and crowthertrust.org, the website for the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, is a place to start. Don’t reward the makers of a clumsy, distasteful movie like “Man in Red Bandana” with your money, though.
* <br>’Man in Red Bandana’<br>A story of heroism during 9/11 is told in the most distasteful, hamfisted way imaginable.<br>Where • Area theaters.<br>When • Opens Friday, Sept. 8.<br>Rating • PG-13 for thematic material involving disaster-related images and descriptions.<br>Running time • 80 minutes.