A Heartbreaking Recreation of 9/11

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2006)

When I went to see United 93, I simply could not get images of movies like "The Delta Force" and so on out of my head. In the back of my mind, I was wholly afraid that this film would become a propaganda piece to illicit a neo-conservative surge of American patriotism that would leave a very disturbing after taste in my throat.
By the end of the movie, several in the theater were crying. Many found themselves unable to move. I found myself unable to stop shaking at the conclusion of the film. All of the fears I had of the horror and heartbreak being overshadowed by racist depictions of terrorists and their insane causes were crushed under the weight of a film that really and truly does relive 9/11. It is with this understanding that I say this: make sure you are ready to relive it if you choose to see United 93, because the hopelessness and anxiety of that morning really does precipitate quite effectively in this film.
So what is it about? Well, its about 9/11, and while it does chronicle the specific events of United 93 in a hypothetical way (no one can ever know everything that happened that day), it is much more about what happened in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on that September 11th, 2001.
It all starts with planning by a group of nervous, and predominately young, terrorists. They look just like everyone else, and convince other passengers for the most part that they are traveling alone on the plane. They bide their time and wait until their "leader" gives the signal.
Of course, while they are waiting, the horror unfolds largely amongst air traffic controllers who, trying to map out flight patterns and ensure the safety of the domestic air space, begin to notice many planes are no longer responsive, and are doing things that just don't seem to make any sense.
Slowly but surely the course of events begins to play out, and one by one, planes are identified as being either hijacked, or suspected of hijack. Sometimes, not even the air traffic controllers know a plane has been hijacked until after it has already crashed (as in the first plane to hit the World Trade Centre- they believed it was American Airlines flight 11, however at the time that the first plane hit, AA11 also seems to disappear over NYC)- however with time, even NORAD begins to recognize the disturbing pattern and mobilize.
"United 93" is not Hollywood in any way- in fact, it has a very realistic feel to it. For my part, I felt like it was 9/11 all over again, and I'm at a loss to describe it with anything but the word "heartbreaking." The passengers on United 93, at least in this movie, moved more for the preservation of their own lives than anything else- and I can't think of a better tribute to them than to acknowledge that. They knew their lives were not going to be spared; they made their move to first and foremost try and save their lives.
Their bravery is not negated by an honest hypothesis of what happened on that September morning- rather in their determination not to be victims, they saved an Icon of American democracy, and their deed has attained a level of immortality that cannot be denied.
I very strongly recommend this movie, but I must do so with a warning: you invest a lot emotionally in this story, and just make sure you're ready for it!