Angel in the Rubble, on Lifetime

It didn’t end on the 11^th. Everyone who was in New York City during the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center will remember the heart-wrenching sight of the missing posters distributed by family members desperately looking for their missing loved ones. In most cases, those pictured were already tragically dead. Genelle Guzman was one of the few happy exceptions. She was also the last. It was an incredible rescue—one that she believes had divine help. Her perhaps miraculous rescue unfolds in Manu Boyer’s Angel in the Rubble: The Genelle Guzman Story, based on her memoir, which premieres tonight on Lifetime—marking the 25^th anniversary of her rescue.

Of course, Guzman had had a regrettable fight with her frustrated partner, Roger McMillan the night before. That will be one of the things Guzman regrets as she lies trapped in the rubble. However, her guilt regarding her daughter, currently living with her father, torments her even more.

Guzman and her friends at the Port Authority almost left when the first hijacked plane hit their tower. Unfortunately, they delayed when they heard rescuers were coming up to get them. However, when they saw the other Tower collapse, they belatedly started climbing down the stairs, passing NYFD firemen heading up.

Soon, the North Tower collapsed, leaving Guzman trapped under the debris. Yet, she was not alone. She could hear an NYPD officer similarly trapped, who tragically succumbed to his injuries. Then an apparent “rescuer” named Paul reaches her, promising to stay with her, holding her hand until a search team arrives.

Sure, there is some melodrama involving Guzman’s unfinished personal business. However, the early scenes depicting the moments directly following the first impact are surprisingly eerie. The sequences amid the rubble are also just as credible as those in Sergio, but they take a much more uplifting turn. Some of the recreations of the World Trade Center are not very convincing, particularly the stairwells (for those who have seen many 9/11 documentaries), but most viewers probably won’t notice.

TV talk show host Sherri Shepherd does a nice job portraying Guzman’s insecurities and her compassion. She and screenwriter Robert Eisele make her messily flawed, but relatable. Similarly, Dondre T. Whitfield convincingly conveys McMillan’s desperation. Jan Combrink hits the right ambiguous is-he-or-isn’t-he notes as Paul. However, the standout performance comes from Inez Robertson as Officer Kate McAdams, who joins the rescue party, while fearing the worst for her Fire Captain father, Liam.

Watching Angel in the Rubble will remind 2001 New Yorkers just how desperate firsts responders were to save someone from the debris. Their lack of success was one of the cruelest consequences of Al-qaeda’s atrocities. By many objective standards, Boyer’s film is an okay made-for-TV production, but it vividly brings viewers back to those days of the immediate aftermath. Recommended for its earnestness and its deft, non-cloying handling of its angelic themes, Angel in the Rubble airs tonight (9/12) on Lifetime (and it will stream on Frndly TV).