Overwhelming

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2006)

Paul Greengrass and company took a unique approach to this film. The viewer feels as if she or he was right there in the room as the action progressed. As the roomful of air traffic controllers realize that one of the WTC towers has been hit, there is a stunned disbelief, followed by the logical statement that that gaping hole couldn't have been made by a Cessna (as was first reported...a small private plane has hit the WTC). Then, when the second plane hit, stunned silence, followed by yelling to keep moving...there is work to be done. What would have helped me would have been a small clock in the bottom of the screen...it was difficult to keep focused on where in time we were, and I was a bit confused at the end (minor spoiler) because it says that the military was not notified that 93 had been hijacked until 4 min. after it crashed, but the air traffic controllers were talking about it well before it crashed in the film. That said, this felt so real! There was no melodrama. Many of the air traffic controllers portrayed themselves; the actors portraying the passengers (and hijackers) were unknowns. The passengers look like real people...they were all sizes and ages (except, thank the Lord, no children!!) and some were without makeup, just as in real life. What a stunning movie. I wept several times as the enormity of how much our lives changed that day hit me over and over again. I recommend it. It's not easy to watch, but worth seeing.