United 93

United93, originally uploaded by MertWindu.

United 93
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Produced by: Working Title/Universal/Canal
Rated: R
Time: 111 minutes

Grade: A

Forty minutes pass from the beginning of "United 93" until the first plane hits WTC 1. During that 40 minutes, we know what is going to happen, and so it is difficult not to be nervous. During this time, as is the case with a lot of the movie, there isn't much valuable dialogue. That's not a knock, and I'll explain why in a bit. Then, the plane hits, and waves of realization hit different characters. First, the FAA and air traffic controllers who have been trying to nail down the facts in possible hijackings start to see that their fears may not cover just how bad things actually are. Then, the military begins to kick into gear. Finally, the people on United flight 93, from the crew to the passengers to the terrorists themselves, start to find out in short bursts of information just what has happened in New York.

And during that 40 minutes, there really isn't a whole lot happening. There is a lot of time given to the procedures performed by the pilots and crew on the flight, and eventually we get around to the hijacking scenarios on a few flights in the Northeast corridor. However, even those revelations come through the lack of something - namely, contact and on-screen information from the flights in the air traffic control centers in Boston and New York. The action centers, though, on the National Air Traffic Control Systems Operations center Herndon, Va. where director Ben Sliney begins the day being congratulated (we aren't told why, don't worry about it), but soon finds that it's the worst day of his life. Sliney plays himself in the movie, and if there were a person to add to a "starring" list at the top of this review, he'd be the one. He is central to the plot until the final half-hour, and it is through him that we experience the early parts of the day.

Going into a plot synopsis seems useless here, since there is quite literally nobody old enough to read this blog who doesn't know the general plot points. And that is the ultmiate dilemma of the film. Sure, films have been made about actual events before, even recent ones. But there is quite simply no way to fudge the details with 9/11. We know almost everything there is to know about what happened, why, and the result. In the very small window of things we don't know are the last 91 minutes of the lives of Flight 91's crew and passengers. We have some good ideas, and can make some strong assumptions. But what we haven't done is to go all the way through what happened between the passengers and crew and the terrorists they fought against.

So that is what Greengrass does here. And he does it very well. Part of the reason for that, and I'm surprised this hasn't raised more eyebrows, is that he almost entirely avoids portraying the terrorists as villains. In fact, they begin the movie much as we do, with trepidation and fear about what's about to happen. They go on their own journey during the story, and while you don't necessarily relate or sympathize with them, it's not that difficult to see them as human. That's something that has never ever been done in any writings or other portrayals of the day's events.

And that gets to the reason this film is so good: It is not by any means a story of good vs. evil. Viewers will go into it thinking that way, and some will certainly come out of it thinking that way. But anyone who can really allow themselves to be immersed in the story will see that it's about will, courage, and fear. In the end, it is very much a tribute to the day, and especially the folks on the flight who decided that countless other lives were important enough to save. However, it does so without making either the heroes the central focus, or the villains any sort of caricatures. They are people, and it is their interactions that are ultimately depicted. It's not an action movie, and it's not so dramatic as to depict Todd Beamer as a Bruce Willis-type hero or any of the terrorists as moustache-twirling evildoers.

There are important juxtapositions made, and they are made well. For instance, the film begins with an Islamic prayer, and there are many of those at the end as well. However, the ones in the climactic scene collide with Christian prayers as well, and I found it very difficult to make any distinction in the emotions and motives. While they are still terrorists, and basically the enemy, the muslims in the movie are people as well, and they are asking for the power of God to be with them. Another bit of filmic comparison to watch for is the hesitation by the terrorists before they storm the cockpit, and the actions of the passengers before they fight back. That's an important corollary as well.

Greengrass did what most want to do (and what I'm hoping Oliver Stone can do with "World Trade Center"): memorialize 9/11 in a way that is stirring, entertaining, and still respectful. But he does it gracefully, without asking you to cry. That's important. The only scene where I felt any sort of tears arising was the one where the passengers call their loved ones. But even that is not treated as typical movie schlock. It has a documentary feel, and that helps us maintain a certain distance while still feeling intensely like a part of what's going on. Nobody needs to be reminded to cry for 9/11. But Greengrass goes through the events in such a way that has us thinking and feeling all at once. Ultimately, he causes us to look at a day we all shared in a somewhat different light. It doesn't feel like the political and cultural event that it has become. It feels the way it did during those early hours on an otherwise beautiful Tuesday in September: Like a series of moments that forever change our lives.