United 93

Directed by Paul Greengrass

It is hard to think about 9/11 and be objective. Thoughts of needless death, fear and dismay pervade the mind. Indeed we have many accounts of events that day from the perspective of witnesses on the ground but we will never know what actually happened on the doomed flights. It is flight United Airlines 93 that interests most people since it didn’t reach its target and instead crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Did the crew attempt to take over the plane and lose control? Did the hijackers lose control accidentally?

Paul Greengrass’ United 93 gives one rendition of the story. The Picture is edited so the picture length is in sync with the actual events and shot with a handheld camera to heighten the uneasiness. There are a lot of close-ups and the cast does an excellent job of playing their parts as people who know they are almost certainly going to their deaths. We are painfully reminded that real flesh and blood people died - this event actually happened. There is definitely a difference between watching these people and most other films where innocent bystanders are killed because we know in those instances the events are completely contrived.

We know what the outcome will be but we root for the characters anyway - right up to the very end. The people on the plane don’t know this for certain and instead of being resigned to their situation they try to change it. It is truly the hallmark of a good movie when it can convey the human condition, granted in extremes, with such believability. United 93 does just that.

4 stars