A touching and brilliant film, “United 93” adds a gleam to the heroes of that day where a lesser film could only tarnish their memory.
Bringing the frenzied events of 9/11 to life is writer-director Paul Greengrass, whose fresh perspective on the day allows him to withhold any judgment and to simply tell the story. He sets up the day as any other, interweaving shots of air traffic controllers arriving at the office with passengers killing time in the airport terminal while they await their boarding. Then, an American Airlines flight fails to respond to Boston Air Traffic Control. Minutes later a Middle Eastern accent is overheard among the chatter from the plane and the desperate realization that the flight has been hijacked over American airspace pushes the story forward.
Interweaving a variety of perspectives, from national and local air traffic control to passengers in an airport terminal, has the effect of putting all of the major players in their positions. When in the next few scenes more hijacked planes are discovered, the World Trade Center is hit and United flight 93 itself is taken over, the audience never loses the thread of the story in the frantic pace of the action. Every emotion the increasing toll of incidents takes on the characters is felt by the audience. Through the action of the next twenty minutes, Greengrass’s focus becomes the passengers and terrorists aboard flight 93. Their confusion and terror, their fright, determination, and logic during the hijacking are inspired by discoveries they make through chance sightings and phone calls, all made from their seats. Shot to be close to real-time, with a relatively unknown cast, the film has the spark of total believability. In the end, it is this reality that all of the director’s and the casts’ effort was put towards.
The climactic final minutes of the passengers’ and crew’s struggle to regain control of the plane move at an incredible pace. With hand held camera’s filming the action as much as they are a part of it, the audience is able to experience with dread and an ungrounded hope the end they knew was coming. And like in real-life, the end comes abruptly.
The events of September 11, 2001, are well known to nearly everyone who will see this film, but “United 93” makes it relatable. Instead of dealing with the large-scale national tragedy it was, this movie is about people, some of whom heroically sacrificed their lives to safe a countless number of others. Though it must have been one of the most challenging film projects Hollywood has aimed to tackle in the last decade, “United 93” is a success in every way. Taut, engrossing, and expert in its conception and delivery, this is an early front-runner for the best picture of the year, a truly remarkable film.
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