United 93 (2006) - Movie Review
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"United 93" is two stories in one - that of the various air traffic controller stations involved in the September 11 attacks, and of the passengers aboard flight United 93, the only airplane that failed to reach its destination (supposedly the Capitol building). Based on evidence found in the black box, the passengers revolted to bring down the plane, though most of the actual happenings on board the plane are guesswork.
Director Paul Greengrass has delivered a blatantly suspenseful and riveting drama despite the fact that you know how things are going to end and that you know that all characters on board the plane are going to die. After 2000's "The Perfect Storm" left a foul taste in many people's mouths for giving us a fictional tale of a true story where everyone dies at the end (not exactly the way you want most movies to end), this is a hard feat to accomplish, but Greengrass doesn't flinch for a moment. He presents the story's happenings as is, without trying to interject [too much] extra drama, emotion or "excitement" into something that already has too much. The movie is fast-paced, highly engaging and, most of all, breathtaking.
For me, my number one concern going into this movie was not whether it was too soon for me to be watching something about 9-11, but whether the film would be unbiased in its approach. This is not to say that America wasn't the victims on this particular day, but time allows filmmakers and historians alike to look at a situation with a more two-sided approach. My biggest fear was that "United 93," or the upcoming Oliver Stone picture "World Trade Center," would be a patriotic tear-jerker, where the terrorists are portrayed as pure evil and the passengers as perfect protagonists. Instead, Greengrass keeps things unbiased, and presents the terrorists as human beings with at least some reservations about doing what they are doing, even if their extreme views of faith have led them to do what they believe is in their best interest, in some misguided kind of way. I particularly liked the performance by the terrorist pilot.
Surprisingly, the best parts of the movie do not take place on the airplane but instead are on the ground. A good half of the movie is devoted to the logistical operations that occurred as the air traffic controllers and those in charge of American airspace attempted to deal with the fact that their country was under attack. In a very straightforward yet still powerful way, Greengrass takes us through the first moments when flights appear to be getting hijacked, yet no one can fathom it, to the first hit upon the World Trade Center, to the realization that a dozen more flights may be under attack. Even more impressive, Greengrass employed the use of many of the real people involved in that day to act in his film. All of the so-called non-actors are extremely convincing; even though they are playing themselves, being yourself at your job and being yourself in a movie are two completely different things.
"United 93" is not for everyone, but for anyone who can even fathom stomaching the events of September 11, this one is a must-see. Come award time, I hope this film is not ignored due to its subject matter and release date.
Now out on DVD in both one-disc and two-disc editions, this film probably isn't going to be a top-seller, but will hopefully be a big rental. It was a shame more people didn't see the film in theaters - they are truly missing out - but if you are to purchase the DVD, which one should you get?
Of course, you'd want to buy the two-disc version, because aside from the obvious that it has more features, it has better features, namely a 40-minute documentary that interviews the people involved with the flight traffic on September 11 - several of whom appear in the film. Another documentary, which shows actors meeting the families of the deceased people they are to play in the movie, is perhaps a bit more emotional but much less informative.
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Anonymous says:
May 14, 2006The timing of this film is not the greatest, with the Oscar season just over with, but what difference does that make? An Oscar simply would not be good enough for this film, nor can I find superlatives to do it justice. So why not tell is like it is: brilliant.
I do not know how the film makers could have done a better job. In the air and on the ground, every scene was convincing. The film perhaps displays a slightly higher degree of verisimilitude in the chaotic, frantic control tower scenes than in the cabin of Flight 93 since the film makers had much more information to work with, with several of the traffic controllers and military personnel playing themselves. That in itself was a brilliant stroke, having several of the key people play themselves. All they had to do was act naturally, which they did. The result would put the most dedicated method actor to shame.
Yet even with much less information to go on for reconstructing the events on the cabin of Flight 93, the film makers depicted the events on board during that flight as it unfolded in real time and accomplished this with greater realism than any film I have ever seen. The four actors playing the terrorists all turned in taught, nuanced performances—even Reese Witherspoon, who earlier this year turned in one of the best acting performances I have ever seen in “Walk the Line,†ought to take notes. Personally, I would like to walk up with a black bag to the four young men who had the thankless job of playing the terrorists and pull out four statuettes and hand them Oscars on the spot, if I had the power to do so. No less brilliant were the actors playing the passengers, who shifted with the greatest of ease out of the bored passenger mode into bewildered, frightened people faced with unimaginable horror, who then turned panic and terror into explosive action in spontaneous bursts of energy. They were all unknown actors. There was not a “name†actor in the bunch.
The frenetic pace is relentless throughout the film, yet the film makers remained in control of their subject matter—a feat the equivalent of subduing a grizzly bear with your bare hands. The result, at least for this movie-goer, was total catharsis. Ever since 9/11, I had carried around a kind of rage, bubbling just below the surface. I came out of this movie feeling cleansed, finally at peace after five years, feeling like my body had been washed free of toxins.
Even the movie critics summoned up enough brain waves to give the “United 93†nearly unstinting praise. Still, leave it to them to quibble. The film opened with a blackened screen and the sound of a voice in Arabic, reciting prayers from the Qu’ran. This “humanized†the terrorists was the mild objection from one critic. Poppycock! This was a brilliant stroke. I felt like that when one of the said (in a Arabic), “It’s time. Let’s go.†And the other stopped saying his prayers that, at that precise moment, they separated from God, and forfeited their humanity, in order to choose evil in some of its purest form, although they remained convinced that they were one with God’s will. The genius of that was that they still remained recognizably human, given they knew what they were about to do. They were tense, antsy, scared but determined young men with a job to do, who managed to remain cool, with even the more hot-headed members of their group able to keep a lid on it and not give themselves away. The other passengers and crew were clueless and the terrorists blended in like they were supposed to do.
[Warning! Warning! Spoiler below! Turn back now if you must!]
Yet another mild objection by a critic was to how the passengers evidently killed two of the terrorists whose job was to keeping the cabin covered while their two compadres piloted the plane. This seemed a John Wayne moment to this critic, a concession to the desire for vengeance in American audiences who were seeking catharsis. Poppycock, again! This action was entirely consistent with the circumstances. What does the said critic expect? That the passengers say to the two terrorists, “Oh, excuse me, can you please step aside and let us pass so we can storm the cockpit? It would really help us out�
My advice is as always: ignore the critics, and go see this film for yourself, if you must. If you don’t see it, of course, I understand, given the topic. But I guaranteed you this: you will see film making at its absolute best. It may even restore your faith in the film industry, especially if you have, as I recently have (on DVD), had the misfortune to view a dog like “The 40 Year-Old Virgin.â€
Oh, by the way, I have news for some of you right wing chowderheads who have commented on this site--I am a peace-nik "lib"--but there are some places I draw the line. I believe there is one approach to Osama and Al-Qaeda and one apporach only-clean them out! Nothing, nothing excuses those attacks--I don't care what their grievances were!!! So don't talk to me about "Blaming America first"--I know where the blame lies!!! And I am not impressed with Michael Moore--he has some gifts as a film-maker but I always feel like I cannot trust him that he is more interested in getting Bush than getting after the truth. that I am seeing propaganda, not real documentary film-making (for that, see "Grizzly Man").
My Rating for "United 93":
Five stars * * * * * out of four
Anonymous says:
April 29, 2006What a depressing movie and to think that some people actually went into this film with a happy ending in mind.This film made you feel like you were on the plane and could feel the people on that planes sadness. For some people they thought that it was too soon for this film abnd really it was in a way. I have heard from alot of people that they feel that if they would have done this as a documentary instead of reinactment of what happened then they would respect it more. I kinda feel the same way but i also think that it took that to get the peoples feelings into the film. Very depressing, very!!!
Anonymous says:
April 5, 2006The libs are probably pulling their hair out over a movie like this, where you get the gut-wrenching sense of *terror* that Americans experienced on 9/11 by Islamic thugs. Libs either want to forget 9/11 altogether or blame it on America.
Anonymous says:
April 3, 2006To you libs who object to this docu-drama film...just think of it as a documentary...like Michael Moore's...only this one deals with the reality.
Anonymous says:
March 14, 2006I think making money off of something so awful is really f*cking sick. That's all movies are, moneymakers and this isn't a subject that should be dealt with like that.