Make no mistake about it, United 93 is a tough film to watch and experience regardless of your political stance or point of view in terms of the events of the day. Paul Greengrass wrote and directed United 93 amidst controversy and the obvious gravity of the task at hand. Greengrass kept it simple here and drew clear of casting “big stars” or trying to utilize various scene-stealing measures. Instead, the film is all about the events of the day and stands in stark contrast to the abysmal World Trade Center film from Oliver Stone.
The film attempts to recount the events of September 11, 2001, aboard Flight 93 with as much accuracy as possible. Some imagination would have to have been utilized, however, and there is a disclaimer to illustrate this. Greengrass approaches his subject with sensitivity and takes on the task with precision. Here, he recounts the story in real time and made the film with the full cooperation – according to Greengrass – of the families of the passengers.
United 93 opens up on the terrible day with shots of the hijackers praying in their hotel rooms and preparing for the task at hand. The film then takes us through the motions over at the airport, as the plane is prepared and air traffic control crews begin their daily routines with the normative activity. Greengrass ably captures these moments, using his traditional “shaky” camera work and generating the effective “bystander” tone that will guide the story. Instead of slick work and a schmaltzy script, Greengrass relies on reality to accompany the film. It’s the right move. As the film progresses and passes between air traffic controllers and passengers aboard the plane, Greengrass takes us around to other air traffic control facilities and drops in on their reactions as the first of the planes hits the WTC. It is a stunning moment, truth be told, and it is a brilliant capture of a terrifying reality that stands alone on the screen of the film. Once again, Greengrass shoots without glitz and the performers act without “style.” It’s all raw.
The film progresses through the well-known events of the day, so I’ll spare the details. The effectiveness of United 93 lies in the details. The casting selection, for example, steers clear of casting people with “histories” so that we do not attach memories of the hijackers with other performances or envision a Clooney-esque stunner trying to overtake them. Instead, the situations are real and ably brought to life by these performers in a passionate portrayal of real, tragic events. This tale works because it works in present tense, shockingly and brutally bringing about the events of the day with no foreknowledge and no afterthought. United 93 is simply about the here and now of September 11, 2001 aboard Flight 93. There is nothing else.
The film also stays clear of the trappings of other similar “disaster” films. Here, we don’t get to know the passengers or sit with them as their discuss their lives in great detail. There is no grandmother with a story to tell or a newlywed couple on their way home from a honeymoon. There are just blank slates of people and we pick up on them briefly through seconds of soundbytes, but nothing more. As Roger Ebert points out in his review on the film, “What we know about the passengers on United 93 is exactly what we would have known if we would have been on the plane and sitting across from them: nothing.” There are no backstories here. We don’t learn with intelligent detail about what the air traffic controller is thinking of or what his family is like. We simply see what he does and it’s brilliant filmmaking.
The beauty of United 93 lies in what it doesn’t do in light of what other, lesser films would have done. There is no politicking from either side of the aisle. There is no ridiculous flag-waving patriotism. There is no bad guy or good guy. Simply put, United 93 examines the incidents of 9/11 aboard that plane with no filter and no glance into the future. The film captures people trapped in, once again to borrow from Ebert, the “inexorable progress toward tragedy. The movie contains no politics. No theory. No personal chit-chat. No patriotic speeches. We never see the big picture.” So Greengrass strips it away and we are left with the tragic pieces, really. United 93 functions on this level because it has to, because it IS history and not just a recreation. At times, it feels like a documentary. It is a film so stunningly real that it left me shaking. This is a film that simply watches the events of the day without pointing the finger and without grandstanding. It’s a work of art.
9.6/10
