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Director Paul Greengrass has tackled what will most likely be the most controversial film of his career, “United 93.” While Greengrass has taken on projects before that dealt with tragic events, such as his 2002 film “Bloody Sunday,” this is the first time anyone has taken on a film project dealing with the actual events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. The film is centered around the hijacking of United Flight 93, and the people both on the plane and on the ground dealing with the situation.
With that said, many people will be turned off from seeing the film because of the subject matter and thinking it may be too soon for a movie based on the events of Sept. 11. The film handles its subject matter responsibly, however, and does not disrespect the lives lost in the tragic event. Rather, it pays tribute to them and does not do so in an exploitative manner.
The film is intense. This comes from Greengrass’ attention to realism. He creates a documentary-like look for the film, and also cast the movie with relative unknowns. He even cast certain people, like Ben Sliney, as themselves. The film has also been shot in a real-time manner.
At the beginning of the film, Greengrass grabs the audience’s attention with a portrayal of the chaos on the ground that takes place as these planes were hijacked in the air. Information starts coming at a frantic pace, and the viewer is hit with all this much in the same way they were hit with it during the actual event.
The film is brutal and at times difficult for a contemporary audience to watch. Knowing what happened, and what is about to happen to the people boarding the plane, a sense of dread hits you but not until the last twenty minutes of the film. The first half deals so much with what is happening on the ground that the actual flight is almost put entirely into the back of your mind. When the terrorists wake up and go to the airport, when the passengers are talking on their cell phones to family members far away before boarding the plane, even once they have boarded the plane and it gets hijacked, you never really get that sense of terror because it is mixed with scenes in the control rooms. Once the plane is successfully hijacked though, and plans form to take out the terrorists, a sense of inevitable horror forms.
Though the film is brutal, it is not violent or exploitative. It is tough to watch at times, but it is also important because of that. Greengrass shows respect for those lost in this terrible event, and this film should be on everyone’s to-watch list.
Bangor Daily News