Terrifying, real, moving.

Rating: 9/10 (13 September 2015)

I have just seen this film for the first time, many years after the events that we all remember so clearly. It was shocking, although I knew what to expect. seeing the events of 9/11 unfolding from the perspective of the ground personnel trying to make sense of it all, the sense of urgency and apparently their inability to prevent the hijacked planes reaching their targets. The main focus of the film was on the events on the fourth hijacked plane which crashed in Pennsylvania. No one knows exactly what happened on that plane, but there is enough information available to construct a totally credible sequence of events.
it's one of the most tense things I have ever watched and I was aware of my own fear responses kicking in. The performances of everyone involved are impeccable and completely realistic. Paul Greengrass made documentaries before this film and this shows in the filming and the non-sensationalist approach. The dialogue lacks any dramatic stirring speeches or anything we would expect from a conventional action movie. It's all about how ordinary people would react in a terrifying situation where initially they don't know what is happening, and then the reality dawns on them and they attempt to do whatever they can to survive.
I was fascinated by the detail of what happened in Air Traffic Control from the first suspicion that something was wrong, to the events that we saw on the news. I assume that these events were recorded and everything really happened. It takes time for people to understand something so awful and so incomprehensible, even those who are highly competent and very experienced.
I remember how I felt, listening to the radio and looking at the news coverage in the UK. I was bewildered, but it was a long way from me. For these people it was their responsibility to deal with an unknown threat situation.
The power of this film is in its matter-of-fact approach which doesn't make judgements and presents the facts as they are known, in a very dramatic way. I am glad that I was brave enough to finally see it. Well done to everyone involved.