We should remember

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2006)

I fully understand that for many this film has been made too soon after the horrific events of September 11th. I have to admit I was one of them, on seeing the trailer at the cinema I was shocked to think that a motion picture was even being contemplated let alone made and released.
As time went on I started to read and hear things about it that got me thinking this was not one of your typical Hollywood films, big stars, etc and that intrigued me. So today I went to see it, with some trepidation.
The actors get across that these are just every day people like you and me, faced with an extraordinary situation. Ben Sliney, playing himself stands out. What a major undertaking for each and every one of those actors who took on a role of one of the passengers, the responsibility to that persons family and friends must have been overwhelming at times, so to each of them well done.
There is a tension that runs throughout this film. The attention to everyday detail is almost too painful to watch as are the phone calls to loved ones, yet again though there is no Hollywood schmaltz, just honest pure feelings handled in a sensitive way.
Paul Greengrass has made a film that, without all the trappings of Hollywood that makes us sit up and think. He makes us care about people he tells us little about. He makes us will the passengers to bash the brains out of the hijackers, even though we do not believe in violence. He makes us feel. Most important of all though is the fact that he makes us remember. The people on that plane did not set out to be heros, they acted out of a human need to survive but in doing so they became heros, saving numerous lives.
I know it might be too soon, but these people died standing up for their right to live, and I for one think we should never forget that, and if this film goes some way to making us remember then it has done a good job.