I had many, many reservations going into United 93. I had images of a neo patriotic propaganda film that portrays American’s as being a master race of sorts. I also had grave fears that the film would focus heavily on whatdid not think it was too soon for a 9/11 film, and I did not think the creation of a 9/11 movie was fundamentally inappropriate (though I would object if the movie turned out to have all the problems I described above) happened on United 93, when nobody actually knows entirely what really went on. Despite the highly positive reviews and the great choice of director, I was extremely skeptical about the whole affair.
To my surprise, director Paul Greengrass entirely avoided all the hugely potential problems detailed above. He made an almost documentary style film, and the incredible thing is the movie doesn’t at all lean on ‘fact’ to function. How does he accomplish this? Well he uses completely unknown actors, and in some cases he uses the actual air traffic controllers who simply plays themselves. After all, who would be more qualified? Because there is no major actor, there is no one character that the film centers on. It’s about the people who witnessed or suffered that day. It’s not even about Americans, but instead it’s about humans. Therefore the movie completely removes itself from being a poster boy for blind patriotism and everyone can identify with the loss humanity suffered on September 11th.
Another way 93 accomplishes this is by humanizing the terrorists. Yes, they are terrorists, but they still are humans - they still feel, fear, love, hate (“If you prick us, shall we not bleed?”) The movie isn’t obscene and doesn’t go overboard and glorify the terrorists at all, in any way shape or form. By simply showing the lead terrorist call his home to say goodbye, or watching the leader have reservations about going through with the attack, we see that the enemy is not so one faced as one would think.
Emotionally, United 93 is a powerhouse without being blatantly manipulative [Crash J] I figured only the last part of the movie, with the actual hijacking, would be tense, but the first half where we experience the attacks again was incredibly tense and saddening. It was actually as if I were back on 9/11, and I experienced the same sort of chaos and fear of the unknown. Back then we didn’t know who was attacking, nor when the attacks would even stop. For a movie to recreate this is an astonishing accomplishment. The senses of danger, urgency, fear, chaos, and sadness are all so well presented and realized. This film does not take advantage of anything to make the audience feel what the movie wants them to feel.
I should add that the way the movie during the hijacking, never has shots outside of the aircraft (the only one is when the plane is taking off from the run way), was a brilliant move. There is no fake looking CGI plane gliding through digital clouds. The camera stays inside the plane, as if to put us in the seat with the passengers. At one point, I believe half an hour before the end, the film simply stops cutting to anything else. We are in that plane with the others, and our only connection with the outside world is the phones and the windows – just like the passengers. Just like the people on the plane, we were not leaving this plane alive unless we could take it back from the terrorists. This created a thick and substantial atmosphere of fear.
The way the final moments of United 93 are handled in a way which probably could not have been done any other way and still been effective. The passengers rushing down the narrow aisle, the plane tossing and veering in many directions in an attempt to slow the passenger uprising, and the extremely close up, in the action, unstable cinematography again take the audience to the plane and uncompromisingly place them in the heat of the moment. Again, because the actors are not recognizable, it is as if we are on the plane with them, and this is the first we have seen them just like it is the first time they have seen each other. They seem real, vulnerable and we can sympathize with them when they are making their phone calls back. I should also note that the line “Let’s roll”, is used as an almost after thought. It wasn’t something that made the man more of a hero than anyone else, and it doesn’t give the audience a false sense of heroics.
The final attack is both kinetically and emotionally intense and saddening, and the desperate siege on the cockpit is devastating tragic to the audience, because they have grown attached to the passengers and want them to get out alive to be with their families like nothing else, but we unfortunately know how it will end. I compare the tragedy of the last moments of the film to the tragedy of Romeo committing suicide when the audience knows Juliet is still alive. That’s how tragic it felt. The way the final shot is presented is just stunning. I won’t give it away, but there is no other way it could have been as successfully portrayed. I was worried it would be a mess of CGI, but it’s not. It’s poignant and haunting.
Overall United 93 was a shock to me on many levels. It shocked me in that it entirely avoided all the hugely potential pitfalls, and it was a shock in that I felt like I was back on September 11th reliving the tragedy, and I felt accordingly so. The use of non professional (but excellent) actors was an obvious yet regardless brilliant move, and the handling of the events and the way they are presented is done with incredible sensitivity and finesse. Without a doubt this is the best film of 2006 thus far (though that isn’t really saying much at the moment). I think this film shows that the world is ready for films on 9/11, as long as they are properly handled. It should be interesting to see how World Trade Centers performs, as in many areas it goes completely against the principles of United 93. Regardless, this is both an important and a hugely effecting film. If you have reservations such as the ones I had, do not fret for Paul Greengrass’s United 93 clearly identifies them and avoids them with grace, creating an emotional and hectically tense, apprehensive film.
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