A brilliant film about good people. Powerful. You should see it.

Rating: 9/10 (8 May 2006)

I just saw the opening-day 2:15 matinÃ©e of United 93 at a multiplex in Arlington, Virginia.
Thirty-six tickets were sold. The audience was mostly senior citizens and office-types playing hooky on a Friday afternoon.
I want to tell you and your readers that this is one of the most powerful movies I've ever seen.
Saving Private Ryan. The Passion of the Christ. United 93.
Everyone seemed to be in kind of a daze when they left the theater. No one said anything, or if they did, I couldn't hear them.
On the way out of the multiplex and into the mall we shuffled past a man in his late 20s or early 30s who appeared to be a first-generation immigrant.
He was a cheerful fellow working the ropes at the theater. He said he hadn't seen the film.
He was asking people what they thought of United 93.
"powerful...you should see it" "intense...make sure you watch it" "moving....you should see it" "really sad...but you should see it" When he asked me, I mumbled "it's really good, you should make sure you see it.." Right about then I must have got some dust or something in my eyes. They burned a bit...felt like saltwater or something.
And then I thought "good?" That can't be the right word for a film like this. Good? But it is the right word. It is a good film about good people. Actually, a brilliant film about good people.
I'll bet everyone who watches this film will actually see someone they love and care about deeply somewhere in the film.
I saw my Mom. She was on the plane. Not my real Mom, but a woman portraying a woman who could have easily been my Mom.
Well, I'm going home now. I've got some people I need to hug before the sun goes down.