Heightened Sense of Realism Gives an Extra Punch

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2007)

From the first frame of "United 93", it became obvious to me that writer/director Paul Greengrass was very well aware of the sensitive subject matter of this movie. I remember vividly the events of September 11, 2001, as do many of us, and this movie delves into the motivation of the passengers of the ill-fated United Airlines Flight 93, and why it crashed into a Pennsylvania field instead of a Washington, DC, landmark, as the hitchhikers had intended to do.
Every shot in this movie was hand-held, giving it a documentary feel. Every passenger captured on-camera at the terminal looked and acted so real, I thought I was in the terminal with them. Let me say, for the record, it is not easy for me to become that involved with a movie, but I did here.
I also want to give kudos to Greengrass for adding even more to the realism of "United 93" because of its cast. The crew of the airliner were real pilots and flight attendants (some of them employed by United Airlines). Many of the air traffic controllers were real, as were many of the military personnel featured in the movie. As an added bonus, some people actually played themselves. I'm not talking CNN anchors, either. Some of the people in this movie were reenacting their experiences on that fateful day, and I found them completely believable.
"United 93" is not the kind of movie you would "pop into the DVD player". But I would recommend that everyone give it a viewing. It provides a unique perspective of that day without being preachy, trite, or contrived.