Review of United 93 (2006) by Manny C — 11 Jan 2011

Unfortunately back in 2006, the fact that Paul Greengrass' United 93, which speculates what may have occurred aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on the morning of September 11, 2001, was written and directing with bruising compassion and brilliance fell on deaf ears. Audiences pretty much stayed way, saying it was too early to depict any part of 9/11 on screen.

It was their choice, and their loss. Paul Greengrass' United 93 is an extraordinary achievement, one that honorably shows the best of humanity in the face of a horrific tragedy that unfortunately occurred in real life. There's no Hollywood rah-rah and coddling, no big emoting moments that Oliver Stone's World Trade Center toyed with. Using a sharp documentary approach, Greengrass achieves a 'you-are-there' effect that is dizzying and visceral but also brilliant. Such ambition was all too rare in the last decade.

And Greengrass has that kind of ambition wired into his DNA. His 2002 feature Bloody Sunday was a shockingly moving portrayal of the 1972 massacre involving British soldiers and Irish peace demonstrators in Northern Ireland. Then he hit his mark with 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, building freshly fierce suspense and action with a hand-held camera and integrity.

For starters Greengrass refused to even make United 93 unless he had the total consent of the families of the passengers and crew. Thankfully, they seemed to realize his talent and his allergy to Hollywood bullshit.

United 93 is movingly authentic. All the actors are unknowns, and the aviation and military figures are played by the real people who played roles on that day. Most notable of all is Ben Sliney, whose very first day as a chief of air traffic control at the Federal Aviation Administration's command center in Virginia. We only see the rest of what happened on 9/11, in New York and at the Pentagon in small flashes.

It's when that chaos begins that Greengrass takes us into the fourth hijacked plane, taking off from Newark to San Francisco. Greengrass keeps things immediate by using his hand-held and shooting in real time, truly capturing the horror of what went on in that 91 minute flight. There were those who feared the film would only center on the four athletes on board who made phone calls to loved ones and sent word of the plane going down.

It's uncertain whether the passengers actually did choose to breach the cockpit and take on the hi-jackers themselves, but for Greengrass it's the intent that counts. United 93 ends with the quick image of dozens of arms reaching into the cockpit; it's not exploitative, it's inspiring.