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Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
Directed & Written by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Daniel Sauli, Lewis Alsamari, JJ Johnson
Running time: 111 minutes,
Released: 04/28/06.
Rated R for some intense sequences of
terror and violence. |
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 It
is not an easy thing to walk into a theater and willingly
open oneself to being transported back to the blackest day
(at least thus far) of the 21st century. There are those who
believe this movie should not be released, that it is "too
soon." I will admit to having believed there was merit to
this position - until I saw Paul Greengrass' vision brought
to the screen. United 93 is it’s own most compelling
defender. There's not a whiff of exploitation to be found.
This is an honest, fact-based account that exists for two
reasons: to assure that we do not forget the events of that
day and to remind us that amidst all the horror and tragedy,
there was still room for heroism. If not for the actions of
the doomed passengers of United Flight 93, the United States
might not have a Capitol Building.
There are too many stories from September 11, 2001 to be
told in one movie. That's one reason why others (such as
Oliver Stone's World Trade Center) are currently in
production and more will come along in future years.
Documentaries already litter the landscape; now their
feature counterparts are arriving. United 93 comes in the
wake of the made-for-television Flight 93. Both recount the
last, tragic hour aboard the plane, albeit in different ways
and from different perspectives. And, as Flight 93
represents one of the best non-HBO cable movies to reach the
small screen in recent years, it would not be hyperbole to
make a similar claim about United 93 with respect to movie
theaters. Certainly, no movie in the last two years has
evoked such a visceral response.
Five years ago in September, most of us watched events
unfold via the detached perspective of television news
feeds, with the familiar, paternal presences of Peter
Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw as guides. Here,
Greengrass takes us into the heart of the maelstrom,
collapsing the distance between the audience and the event.
Greengrass' style is that of a "you are there" documentary
with hand-held cameras providing the necessary immediacy.
There is minimal incidental music, and what there is, is
used sparingly and effectively. Little known actors are
employed, reducing the likelihood that a familiar face will
interfere with character identification. (In fact, in the
case of some of the on-the-ground officials appearing in the
film, the individuals play themselves.)
Greengrass uses a two-pronged approach to the events of the
morning of September 11. With things unfolding in near
real-time, there is plenty of "dead space" that needs to be
filled as passengers board the flight, the plane waits its
turn to use the runway, and the aircraft climbs to cruising
altitude. United 93 fills this space not through flashbacks
or other "character building" exercises, but by taking us to
FAA headquarters; air traffic control centers in Boston, New
York, and Cleveland; and NORAD. Through the eyes of the
people working in these locations, we see the situations of
the morning develop, and understand the confusion,
miscommunication, and misinformation that resulted in
civilian and military paralysis. When FAA manager Ben Sliney
finally makes the determination to close off U.S. airspace,
most viewers will breathe a sigh of relief.
Once the terrorists act on board United 93, the film narrows
its primary focus to those events. We see things unfold as
they have been described in documentaries and print
articles. After stabbing a passenger and killing the pilot
and co-pilot, the terrorists seize control of the plane and
turn it toward Washington D.C. The cowed passengers, huddled
together in the back of the plane, make phone calls to loved
ones and learn what has happened in New York City. They
resolve to rush the cockpit and take control of the plane -
or die trying. A furious struggle ensues but, before the
passengers can wrest control from the hijackers, the plane
goes into a death spiral and crashes. United 93 ends with a
view out the cockpit window of the onrushing ground, then
blackness. Viewers may be mid-way through the closing
credits before they have recovered enough to move from their
seats.
United 93 is powerful not only in the way it provides hope
through the actions of a few unlikely heroes, but in its
ability to take us back through time to a day many of us
would prefer not to remember, but will never forget. The
film is remarkable in that not only does it do the big
things right, but it flawlessly captures the details. It's
hard to express the growing feeling of dread the film
generates as we watch the passengers take their seats and
endure the routine that every flier has become accustomed to
before takeoff. It's all so ordinary, but we know how things
will end.
Character development is not a priority for United 93. We
get to know these people as we might familiarize ourselves
with fellow passengers on a plane - fleetingly, and not
deeply. Some of the names are familiar: Mark Bingham, Todd
Beamer, Tom Burnett, and so on. We hear the now-famous
"let's roll" phrase, although it's uttered not as a call to
battle but as part of a larger comment. These are people
who, under different circumstances, might never do anything
deemed "heroic." But they rise to the occasion, although it
isn't without fear, trepidation, and much shedding of tears.
Watching these people deliver good-byes to loved ones via
cell-phones is heartbreaking.
Likewise, United 93 does not delve into the background of
the terrorists. Other films have done that, but it isn't on
Greengrass' agenda, nor is sympathizing with them or
demonizing them. He presents them as individuals blinded by
a cause, who don't see their fellow passengers as more than
a dangerous inconvenience. Yet, as we watch them gathered in
the airport lounge before boarding the plane, we wonder what
they are thinking as they look into the eyes of people they
will be killing less than two hours later. The only nod to
humanizing the terrorists is that one of them, Ziad Jarrah (Khalid
Abdalla), is shown placing a call to someone and saying "I
love you" before boarding the plane. Later, he appears
reluctant to order the attack to start. But whether that is
because he is nervous or because he doubts the righteousness
of his actions is not made clear.
In the multiple air traffic control centers, we see the
routine of everyday activity spiral into chaos as one plane
after another loses contact and drops its transponder
signal. Lines of communication are fragmented and bad
information is passed back and forth (especially concerning
American Airlines 11, the location of which becomes a source
of confusion). NORAD is unprepared. They can't get planes in
the air. Once they finally launch, they have problems
getting FAA clearance to fly over Manhattan. Two of their
fighters have no weapons, but it doesn't matter because they
are unable to obtain a clarification about the rules of
engagement.
Greengrass, an Englishman, might not immediately seem like
the best choice to direct a film about an American tragedy,
but the results argue in his favor. He is a filmmaker with a
social conscience. In addition to helming the terrific
popcorn thriller The Bourne Supremacy, he also made Bloody
Sunday. His vision for United 93 was not to make a political
statement or to cast blame. He wanted to craft a film that
would bring people together, not split them apart along
political or ideological lines.
One should not confuse United 93 with a documentary.
Although it uses the historical record as a basis for its
story, the dramatization relies upon Greengrass' imagination
for everything for which we do not have confirmation:
conversations between passengers, facial expressions, and
what happened during those final, confused moments. In real
life, we do not know if the passengers breached the cockpit
or whether they merely came close. We do not know how many
terrorists they may have killed. And we do not know whether
the hijackers crashed the plane or whether it went into a
death spiral during a struggle for the controls. Greengrass
makes assumptions, and it's hard to argue with any of them.
United 93 is a masterful motion picture. Its impact stays
with the viewer; its images are hard to shake. In the years
since 9/11, much of what happened that day has become
ingrained in our culture. We have absorbed it. United 93
picks the scab and brings back the freshness of the wound.
But the passage of time allows us to see the events of this
film in a larger context. I do not use the phrase "must see"
lightly (and there are those for whom this film may be too
painful). Seeing United 93 represents a difficult film-going
experience, and one that should not be undertaken lightly.
It's hard to imagine anyone not being affected on some level
by United 93. But the value of what this picture imparts is
worth the challenge of sitting through it. When I compile my
Top 10 list of films for 2006, United 93 will be on it, and
almost certainly close to the top. |
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UNITED 93 ©
2006 Universal Pictures.
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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