7 best movies about 9/11

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).

An estimated 3,000 children lost their parents in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, forever changing their lives.

Based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close tells the story of one of those children. 9-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) and his father, Thomas (Tom Hanks), have a very close relationship. Thomas often organizes treasure hunts to push Oskar out of his comfort zone by asking him to explore New York and interact with people.

A year after Thomas dies in the collapse of the World Trade Center, Oskar finds a key in his father's closet. Oskar begins to explore what the key means to his father, and in doing so, he finds peace after his father's death.

You can watch Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or YouTube.

Reign Over Me (2004).

Thousands of Americans lost loved ones on 9/11. How do you cope with that loss? In Reign Over Me, director Mike Binder explores this question through the story of Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler).

Charlie's life falls apart when his wife and three daughters die in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Five years later, he reunites with Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), his old roommate from dental school. Alan is shocked to see how much Charlie has changed. Once friendly and outgoing, Charlie becomes withdrawn and unkempt. Alan tries to mend their friendship and help Charlie get his life back on track.

In turn, Charlie helps Alan see the joy and meaning he has missed in his life and relationships. The film, starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Liv Tyler, shows the value of true friendship in dark times.

You can watch Reign Over Me on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, or Hulu.

The Report (2019).

After 9/11, the George W. Bush administration used "enhanced interrogation techniques" to extract information from actual and suspected terrorists. After news leaked that the CIA had destroyed videotapes of interrogations of high-ranking al-Qaeda terrorists to cover up instances of torture, the Senate Intelligence Committee opened an investigation.

The Report tells the story of that effort, which concluded in 2014 with a 6,700-page report, much of which remains classified. Senate staffer Daniel Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by Senator Diane Feinstein (Annette Benning) to investigate the destruction of interrogation videos. He discovers that the CIA misrepresented its methods, the number of prisoners tortured, and the quality of the information it obtained.

But not everyone wants the Senate to play its oversight role. Driver and Benning, along with Jon Hamm, Ted Levine, and Corey Stoll, elevate this procedural drama into a compelling look at America's recent human rights abuses.

You can watch The Report on Amazon Prime.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012).

What happens when worlds collide and what we want and what we have collide? Based on the novel by Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist tells the story of Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani immigrant living in the United States.

After graduating from Princeton, he seems to have it all. He works for a big Wall Street firm, is the favorite of his boss, and is dating a beautiful photographer (Kate Hudson). But his life in America changes dramatically after 9/11. He is suddenly viewed with anger and suspicion. He returns home to Lahore, Pakistan, where he quickly becomes involved with a CIA agent (Liv Schreiber) who is searching for a kidnapped American university professor.

Director Mira Nair focuses on the different directions Khan's life takes him—from his desire to pursue a career in America, his commitment to his family in Pakistan, and his conflicted views on the United States and its foreign policy. You can watch The Reluctant Fundamentalist on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, or Hulu.

Worth (2020).

How much is a life worth? Washington, DC, attorney Kenneth Feinberg was tasked with answering that question for each of the nearly three thousand people who died on 9/11.

Two months after the attacks, he was appointed special administrator of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Director Sara Colangelo tells the story of how Feinberg worked with victims’ families for nearly three years to distribute more than $7 billion. Many families disagreed with the decisions he made and the way he communicated them. Michael Keaton plays Feinberg, while Stanley Tucci plays Charles Wolf, whose wife died in the World Trade Center and who led the opposition to Feinberg. “There’s some artistic license that they take in the movie,” the real-life Feinberg says, and journalists were quick to point out where fact gave way to fiction. But even Wolf agrees that the film is honest in its portrayal of a man who changed and grew as he learned the depths of the victims’ families’ pain.

You can watch Worth on Netflix.

United 93 (2006).

The 9/11 terrorists hijacked four planes. Three crashed into their targets. The fourth, United Flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought valiantly to regain control.

In United 93, director Paul Greenglass recreates the story of the fateful flight in real time, using what is known from the flight path, communications with air traffic control, calls from passengers to relatives, and interviews with the families of the crew and passengers.

Greenglass eschewed big Hollywood stars and cast lesser-known actors. The crew was even played by actual pilots and flight attendants. No one knows for sure what the terrorists intended to target with United Flight 93, although many experts suspect it was the U.S. Capitol. What we do know is that the plane was just twenty minutes from Washington, DC, when it crashed. You can watch United 93 on Amazon Prime, Hulu, or Peacock.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

In Zero Dark Thirty—military slang for the hours before dawn—Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow tells the story of Maya, a determined CIA agent who helped execute the SEAL Team Six raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11.

Maya is a composite character based on several CIA agents who helped hunt down Bin Laden. The film’s creation wasn’t the only thing that caused controversy when it was released. Critics criticized the original plan to release the film just before the 2012 presidential election, Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal’s collaboration with the CIA when planning the film, and the film’s depiction of “effective” forms of torture. (Senator Feinstein walked out of a screening to protest a waterboarding scene.)

These controversies didn't stop Zero Dark Thirty from being nominated for Best Picture, and Jessica Chastain also received a Best Actress nomination for her role as Maya. You can watch Zero Dark Thirty on Amazon Prime, Google Play, or YouTube.