Exceptional and cathartic

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2007)

I hesitated watching this great movie. But now I'm glad I got up the nerve to sit through this exceptional piece of art.
Greengrass walked through a minefield and created a masterpiece with this movie. His nomination for Best Director at the Oscars is so well deserved.
I find myself viewing this movie again and again, I can't get it out of my mind. You've probably heard the many descriptions about how Greengrass's touch is pseudo-documentary in tone and style, a fly on the wall approach. We literally can't tell which players in this movie are actors and which ones are the real thing (with the exception of Ben Sliney and others).
The depiction of the plane's passengers is heartfelt and subtle. Even the terrorists are fleshed out in such a way to provide greater insight into the evil things they did that day. Jamie Harding is excellent as the youngest terrorist who is so obviously filled with such self-righteous fanaticism that he, along with the others, could see the evil they were doing as somehow justified and an act of Allah/God.
The looks on the faces of the players on the ground remind me of my own reaction - stunned disbelief and shock. Can this really be happening? It is enormously emotionally satisfying to see the passengers fight back as they do, as I hope I would do if I were there on the plane with them. The final moments of this movie are absolutely gripping and unforgettable.
I can't imagine a more accomplished, more fitting treatment of the September 11th tragedy than this one.