I Felt As if I Were On That Plane.....

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2006)

United 93 will no doubt become one of the most controversial films to be released by a studio this year. It is a film that is difficult to watch in that the events that took place happened only five years ago, and for most of Americans, happened in a place no one would actually see with their own eyes. It is, in fact, a sort of surreal event most of us experienced through television and newspaper. Yet with United 93, we are put into the positions of the air traffic controllers and the passengers themselves as they go on about trying to de esculate the situation that would become 9/11.
The camera is a first person point of view of the events that took place that day. We are never given a particular character to connect with, instead connecting in unison with all Americans with the events that unfold during that tragic day. Greengrass edits this film with precision and power, smoothly flowing from one air traffic control tower to another, as the controllers try desperately to understand the hijackings taking place. These shots are inter cut with the passengers on board United 93, not knowing the events that have begun to unfold, even before they take off.
The experience of watching this film is intense, and quite difficult to watch in many areas, yet I found it hard to turn away from what was unfolding on screen. The camera boards the plane as if it were just any other passenger, quietly observing the small talk, the flight attendants carrying on about their jobs, the pilots preparing for their flight. We see the terrorists calmly seated in first class, knowing what is to happen within a few minutes, yet being unable to stop them from carrying out their murderous plans.
By the time we see the actual take over of the flight by the terrorists, the WTC have already been attacked, the fear on display in that plane is so overwhelming, and so real, I didn't know what to think. The messages to loved ones by the airline phones broke my heart, yet we never hear or see the other side of the line. We wouldn't if we were actually on the plane, so why would we in this film? The rebellion is heart pounding, and before you can blink, the film ends, and you remain in your seat, heart pounding, hands shaking, and in total shock of what had been witnessed.
Paul Greengrass did absolutely amazing work with this picture. Using no name actors in the roles of the passengers and the air traffic controllers made the film more real and that much more of an experience. It doesn't sentimentalize the events that took place, nor does it become judgmental or linear. It was a day of grand confusion and fear, and Greengrass was able to take his camera and quietly observe the chaos that took place that day.
United 93 is not an easy film to witness, and I don't recommend everyone to watch it because of its subject matter. But if you feel emotionally strong enough to witness these events, I whole heartedly recommend this picture. Very few times can film be considered an actual work of art. I consider this to be one among the few.
HIGHLY Recommended.
MJR