Staggering and sensitive piece of work

Rating: 10/10 (8 July 2009)

Paul Greengrass's bold dramatisation of the horrific events of September 11th 2001 was one of the biggest risks taken in cinema in the first few years of 21st century. The importance of the event was undeniable, but the emotions which it had naturally aroused in those personally involved in the story and the vast majority of the world's public made this subject incredibly delicate. However, with this film, Greengrass met the many challenges that came with it and established himself as one of the most talented and important filmmakers of the day.
The power of this film comes almost entirely from the genius of Greengrass and his script, his style and his execution of a brilliant and sensitive piece of film-making. The film is not a simple docudrama (it is so much more than that). It is a true to the events but takes the licence necessary to turn it in to a story with intelligent perception of what happened but an emotional heart which makes this very difficult subject as gripping and moving as it deserves and needs to be. Bravely, however, this film takes on the subject of the hijackers without reducing them to inhuman psychopaths but portrays them as misguided human beings. Before one of them gets on the doomed flight to carry out their terrible plan, he gets on the phone and simply says "I love you" – a touch of genuine class from Greengrass.
For Greengrass's sensitive handling of the story he is to be praised (he only proceeded with the film once he had gained the consent of all the families of United 93, who co-operated with his research), but his realisation of the story on screen is the real triumph. His (now much-imitated) hand-held style, which is exhilarating in the "Bourne" films, is brilliant here at bringing across the terror and chaos in the air – a style he contrasts with the scenes on the ground were the chaos is viewed through a far more stable and controlled eye. The sheer lack of order and control that occurred on the ground that day with the air-traffic controllers and the federal government is brought home brilliantly, with some of the crucial real life figures re-enacting what happened that day.
All of this would still have been rather pointless had it not been for the power of the story being told. The courage of the passengers is incredibly powerful and a testament to the human spirit which seemed so absent that day. The final part of the film in which the fight back happens is a stupendous bit of cinema. Moving and haunting it is an absolutely perfect ending to an absolutely brilliant bit of film which left me (and still leaves me) speechless, with chills running up and down my spine.