United 93
Paul Greengrass’ faithful reenactment of the events of September 11, 2001 that led to the crash of the hijacked United 93 plane will certainly stand forever as a living monument to those who willingly gave their lives to prevent the final, awful stage of the attacks being carried out. Greengrass smartly starts the film by showing the terrorists themselves (one of whom is clearly frightened and reluctant) preparing themselves for their “big day” ahead. It’s interesting that when we meet the passengers, none of them is given a “big intro” or some kind of early conflict to try to establish them with the audience. They all are just regular, everyday people, and any dialogue they have is consistently small talk. Likewise, once the crisis starts, it’s almost sad how both the air traffic control and the military are so lackadaisical and disorganized in how they respond to the situation (“So ya got a hijacking, huh?”) even as Ben Sliney and other real-life figures in the situation play themselves in the film. Also of note is the fact that mostly unknown actors are utilized to portray the passengers, with the exceptions being Boston Legal’s Christian Clemenson (who does a fine job as Thomas Burnette), former SNL and Dream On cast member Denny Dillon, and David “Sledge Hammer” Rasche. Once the siege begins, Greengrass turns the realism into something very visceral and frightening, with the handheld shakycam he used to such effect in the Bourne movies adding to the tension. Then, as the passengers realize their situation and realize that it’s time to act (“Let’s roll”), Greengrass makes two minor mistakes: Firstly, he has the only European passenger on the flight try to talk the others out of carrying out their plan, and is actually shown trying to WARN the terrorists before it is carried out, when there is no documented evidence to prove that the man actually acted that way; and secondly, when the terrorists are shown getting their just desserts, he fails to make it as terrifying and visceral for them as it was for the viewer when they first took the plane. Nonetheless, the results are truly inspiring, and for the most part Greengrass’ pacing, flow, and realism makes one understand how he picked up an Oscar nomination for his directing. In the end, a harrowing look at four evil men and their journey into Hell, as well as 40 average citizens on their path to Immortality…
9/10