Intense and brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2006)

There weren't many notes you could take, whether it be in the equilibrious opening or the terrifying denouement, that can describe the feelings you endure along United 93. Ample publicity has been sold on Paul Greengrass' new movie, debating the veracity of its story and whether there was a need for it to be made in the first place. How soon is too soon? How long did America wait to tell of Vietnam's nightmares? You would have been forgiven for thinking it blasphemous to even entertain the idea of shooting a movie on 9/11, yet despite the controversy United 93 is here, and will attract an audience regardless (or maybe even as a result of) its negative press.
Shot in real time, on digital camera, United 93 begins with showing us the terrorists making their final morning prayers, before setting off to the airport. There are no handsome grins, nor are there nasty frowns. These men, if anything, look more terrified than you ever could. Their intentions are hidden behind an obvious human front that continually puts them at odds with themselves. We then shift to the airport's other passengers, none of which are ever given an emotional edge to them. As the film goes on we visit the men and women behind the running of the airwaves  particularly those responsible for what should happen in case of emergencies. Many of the actors betraying these people are the people themselves, who were there on that tragic day. Using non-actors gives Greengrass' film an authentic breeze of dialogue and behaviour, that never seems forced or embellished. Whilst we never truly get a feel for any individual character we believe every word they say, and truly understand the circumstances they were put in as the tragedies unfolded. We learn how difficult it was to get in touch with the White House, when the people needed their government the most. We also learn of the confusion experienced as these planes went strangely off course before any conclusive knowledge of a hijacking had been established. But the film's biggest power lies in the chilling reenactment of the fate of flight 93. All forms of dramatic irony are completely dropped. We can feel an unease just by the soft, subtle touch of the film's score. During the opening the characters act like any man would in these types of totally conventional circumstances. Greengrass does not incorporate a view of hindsight for his audience, instead allowing the film to flow in the moment, with each passing event happening as the characters read it, rather than what the audience already knows occurred. It isn't a movie that allows much headway for dramatic convention, nor does it satisfy are needs for entertainment (which, perhaps, is what Titanic was aiming to do). All it ever tries to do, and what it achieves in great effect, is a tribute to the courage and bravery of of the passengers and staff aboard United 93.
Paul Grenngrass' masterpiece is the anti-Titanic: there are no star-crossed lovers, no dastardly bad guys, no romantic journeys and absolutely zero poetic license. This is as frighteningly real as a movie gets. The characters of United 93 are so authentic it verges on the mundane at times. As the film is shot in real time, it certainly tests the patience of this eras' ever demanding audience (my idiot of a brother had the audacity to walk out after 30 minutes), but I urge all of you to stick with it. The characters aren't meant to have depth, nor are they meant to go through life-affirming changes. The film is a fine illustration, similar to the faux-documentaries that Greengrass directed in his native Britain, that documents the haunting ordeal induced by the passengers, and their subsequent bravery in attempting to foil the terrorists. The final sequence is one of the most terrifying set-pieces ever put on film, managing to raise every strand on my body to an electric edge, as the passengers desperately try to kick down the cabin door when, in one blisteringly quick moment of hope, you actually believed they can prevent it. That they can save themselves. And for this reason alone, it is a masterful piece of work, deserving of the highest praise a film can receive. Regardless of what your stance was before the film was released, United 93 is a film you have to see. You owe it to the people it illustrates, in fittingly faux-reality style, and whose bravery it commends. As a film reviewer all I could ever ask of a film is to work as a piece of art. That is all anyone should ever ask. It is, at times, worrying, distressing, haunting and terrifying. But never wrong.