The Inevitable

Rating: 10/10 (9 May 2006)

The events that took place on September 11th are still embedded into the minds of Americans everywhere. For months there was no escape from those dreaded images and the idea that terrorists are stronger than previously thought. The last thing to worry about would be a a picture about the events on that fateful day. Upon hearing that there would be not one but two movies released less than five years after the catastrophe (Oliver Stone's World Trade Center being the second), I was skeptical to say the least. Is our country ready to relive those terrible hours on the big screen?
United 93 takes a look at the last hours of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93. The films opens with the terrorists making some final preparations before they leave. Director Paul Greengrass jumps around throughout the film from control room to control room and back to the situation aboard the plane. Because of all people involved, there is no need to delve into backgrounds for the characters, just the fact that they are present is all that is necessary for the film to work.
The movie isn't completely centered around the flight of United 93, but the events leading up to the fateful crash in Pennsylvania. One idea that is constant throughout the film is that question of 'what now?' Today's world has changed because of what happened in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. We are much more cautious and anxious about taking the next step. In 2001 no one could have foreseen this happening to America. A country that for hundreds of years has taken in all sorts of cultures and given them fresh start on life. It is almost a stab in the back. To see the panic in the faces of the air traffic controllers and the stewardesses is a chilling reminder of how we all felt that day.
Greengrass luckily didn't go out of his way into making this a blockbuster smash like The Perfect Storm. Both are stories that have holes missing in the actual time line of events. The only certain aspect of these movies is the outcome. Rather than relying on the big name actors to lead the passengers in an uprising against the terrorists, Greengrass acquires talent in numbers, forging an element of realism in the passengers. The casting of actual military personnel is a much needed touch that makes the movie that more believable. Without this aspect of the film it would be making a mockery of the event and smearing the movie industry.
The message being sent isn't to be more patriotic or more anti-Islam. The message emanating from the film to be informed and to understand what ordinary people can accomplish in an extraordinary situation. Of course these people should be honored and remembered, but the movie doesn't make them into Harrison Ford's and Sigourney Weaver's. It creates their legend. They saved hundreds possibly thousands of lives, taking their own.
Skeptical as I was, I only knew of one thing coming into the movie and that was the outcome. I knew that there was no way this movie could end happily. Michael Bay tried to do this with the movie Pearl Harbor and made a shamble of such a solemn and tragic event. Although the ending was certain, the beginning and body of the movie was basically a mystery entering the theatre. It truly was an informative and necessary piece.
So where is our country now? Have we come any farther from when we once were? United 93 doesn't answer that question. The answer lies within every American. Do we move on and remember the thousands of lives lost that day, or do we stay in the past beneath the pain and agony that came screaming out of the sky?