MINDLESS MUSINGS

One of the great big budget disaster films; the plot is not too important. Or I should say, it doesn’t need to be too convoluted. The crucial factor for this genre is getting the audience to care for, at least some, of the main characters. Keep the suspension of disbelief going strong and get us invested in the tension and drama and you are nailing it.

To that end, the first act is usually the ‘getting to know’ the characters, the storyline and their relationship to each other. If you can do this while getting your exposition out unnoticed you are on fire! (yeah, I know)

Anyway, my interest here is with one specific part of the plot – the reason behind the faulty wiring that causes the fire. No prizes for figuring out it was greed, by the way.

 A quick roll call of the important characters for this sub-plot:

James Duncan – the billionaire developer

Doug Roberts – the brilliant architect

Roger Simmons – the electrical subcontractor and Duncan’s son-in-law

Michael O’Hallorhan – the Fire Chief

For a little foreshadowing the building has been having some teething problems lately and Doug would prefer to postpone the big opening ceremony (taking place right up the top of course) a little while to be safe. Duncan is having none of that. He’s got the mayor coming for fuck’s sake!

My first two cents here regarding this trope in general. The authority figure who refuses to err on the side of safety almost always come off as a reckless money grubber. This may or may not be true, but it is too easy for us to judge up on our high horses; especially when we’re watching a movie about the very disaster this character is betting against.

Like it or not, a lot of people depend on this persons’ venture being a success. If they fold after every caution the enterprise may fail and then we will hate them for losing our jobs or investments: rock and a hard place stuff. Pragmatism is the only way to take that gamble and always remember the guy refusing to heed the warning does not know he is in a movie called the fucking Towering Inferno! He probably like the chances of things going smooth.

Back to the conspiracy.

Duncan asserts that he has full confidence in his building and even more so in Doug’s architectural brilliance. Flattery will get you everywhere. The problems seem to be electrical in origin, so naturally they want to light up the whole building for this special occasion. It’s all about spectacle after all.

As soon as Doug realises this is happening, he orders all, but the essentials be left on to lessen the load on the dickie electrics. That’s what causes the spark, literally and the towering inferno is beginning to smoke. Cue the action.

While Doug is inspecting a power box/station he discovers that his specifications may have been slightly downgraded; as in El-cheapo wiring. Doug is furious and confronts Roger who invokes the ‘minimum standards’ defence. Doug insists that those standards are shit to begin with and irrelevant for this building because there has never been one this tall. That is why he specified such high-quality materials.

Chief O’Hallorhan and his team arrive on the scene and are none too keen on fighting fires in skyscrapers. When the Chief meets Doug he makes his feelings known, telling him how highfalutin architects design these soaring structures and when the shit hits the fan the work of the rescue services is made that much more arduous and risky. The people who build these steel and glass monstrosities are more interested in their own glory than the countless lives they put in peril.

The most fascinating confrontation takes place between Duncan and his son-in-law. Duncan kicks off from the moral high ground threatening Roger with the throwing of the proverbial book for cutting corners and causing this catastrophe. A bold move considering that Roger counters with the fact that Duncan himself had told him to cut costs wherever possible; $4 million I believe the goal was.

Roger reminds his father-in-law of his disdain for the architect’s stringent safety requirements and the cost it was adding to the venture. Roger managed to cut $2 million off that superfluous budget, which leaves another $2 million unaccounted for. Wonder how Duncan managed to save that amount of money? Touche!

Finally, amidst all the chaos and carnage, Doug and Duncan lock horns. Duncan plucks that old minimum standards chestnut out of his ass and Doug repeats his logic from the earlier application of that crap.

Now let me sum up the message as I see it at this point: Duncan was willing to push the limits of engineering to create a modern marvel, but these things don’t come cheap. Doug had the necessary skill to make this ‘monument to progress’ possible, but he understood the risks involved and felt the burden of responsibility of minimizing those dangers very acutely. This is not a well-matched partnership.

Neither man can achieve their goal without the other and I suspect both turned a blind eye to the inconsistencies in their visions. Although Duncan would ultimately have the final say on construction and poor old Roger just wanted to get out from under his in-law’s thumb. Pull this off and maybe the old bastard will cut me some slack.

As for Fire Chief O’Hallorhan, his stated objection was the sheer hubris of these men erecting these gigantic phallic symbols with total disregard for the hazards they pose to both the inhabitants and anybody needing to go in and rescue them if need be.

So, we reach the conclusion. Many lives have been lost, and the building is proper fucked. Not exactly the spectacle they were hoping for. Survivors are counting their lucky stars and reevaluating their lives. Let’s have a final listen to what our characters are thinking after the ordeal. Then I will impose my opinion and maybe fuck things up; let’s see.

Duncan is seated with his daughter swearing that he’ll never make the same mistakes again. Seems ‘minimum standards’ will keep him in the clear and in business. Problem: if Duncan places a bid on the next project according to Doug’s specifications he will lose and the contract will go to someone a bit more ‘profit driven’.

Chief O’Hallorhan passes Doug and hits him with a quip about how ‘you’ hotshots build these structures without listening to the experts in risk mitigation. Doug replies with “I’m listening” and after a couple of exhausted almost grins the credits roll. I imagine we should all be feeling a little optimistic at this point.

Cynicism alert! Have we all forgotten that Doug had insisted on materials way above the accepted standards and was ignored due to ‘bottom line’ concerns. Maybe he didn’t have the know how the Chief had in respect to rigorous safety protocols, but unless they were extremely cheap, or preferably free, they would have fallen on deaf ears just the same.

Maybe that’s the missing piece. The Chief knew a cost-effective way for residents to be evacuated quickly and safely but was waiting to be asked about it. Shit, I hope that’s not it!

The depressing reality is we have three blokes with skills, knowledge and resources who are about to learn that those attributes are not enough. This is where the free market comes up short; unless Duncan can afford to do it alone or he is a tyrannical despot, all the trios’ best intentions will be defeated by the lower bidder with a better story.

Sorry for that. Follow me for more spoiling of ‘positive’ endings.