After watching United 93, I felt like I was punched in the gut. This may be the most emotionally charged cinematic experience I have ever had, as I cannot recall another film that actually left me sweating and sore from the intensity witnessed on screen. This fact is made even more surprising because I cannot recall a single character’s name, and the film lacks many aspects needed to craft great cinema. There are no character arcs, no personal drama, no explanation of events and no examination of motives: these aspects however are not missed, nor was it director Paul Greengrass’s intention to create a detailed historical look at the events of 9/11. United 93 is a testament of the terror and confusion felt by a few Americans on this historic day, and is not a story about their lives or deaths. United 93 is a story about the chaos of the situation and how the situation might have been handled, as real life details about the doomed passengers are murky at best.
While waiting for the film to start, I asked myself two questions: a) after it was over, did I feel manipulated, and b) would I be able to separate my feelings of the event from the film enough to give an objective review? The answer to both of these questions is “no.” The filmmakers here did not create a film full of rah-rah American sentimentality, nor did they artificially tug on heartstrings with an overly affected score or fictional drama. I believe this is the fear of those not willing to see the film, but rest assured, the subject matter is handled with respect and never feels trivialized by a director’s manipulation of historic events in order to craft a compelling narrative.
We see the events that transpired from two vantage points – from the ground at the Air Traffic Control and FAA headquarters, and from the passengers and terrorists of flight 93 themselves. What is remarkable about this film is the tension felt from both perspectives – the tension feels genuine on both the ground and in the air. For much of the film all we see are various radar screens showing little green blips while hearing confused and emotionally charged dialog from the operators in charge of air safety and navigation. What Greengrass does so well, is brilliantly capture what it must have felt like on this terrible morning. From the film, we only know what little the characters know, as in reality, no one really had any idea about what in the hell was even happening. At one point the head of the Air Traffic Control calls for the complete shutdown of all American airports claming “We’re at war with someone!” A statement of the obvious perhaps, but a statement that represents the terror many felt that day.
The second question I asked myself is harder to answer, but is also rendered pointless. I could sit here and talk about the technical merits of the film: the handheld documentary-style camera work, the lighting of the sets, the performances and the editing. But to focus on such trivial aspects would be an insult to the filmmakers and to the lives of those involved in the events themselves. I can say this though: the film is more than competently made – it is extremely well made on all fronts. However, to try to separate my emotion of the events from the film in order to offer up a bit of vapid criticism would be an exercise in futility.
United 93 is all about the emotion we as Americans, and in some small part the world, felt on 9/11. Emotions such as fear, confusion, anger and sorrow are all masterfully captured on the screen and portrayed by the cast of characters, many of which were played by their real life counterparts. I am not a rock, nor can I turn off my personal feelings like some faucet, especially those as deep rooted as the ones attached to 9/11, in order to view a film like this without being strongly affected and emotional. To do so would be to miss the entire point of the film itself, which is a question many people have asked: what is the point of this film? Why was this film even made? This film was not made in some cheap attempt to bolster a political agenda or to show that Americans stand together as heroes in a time of tragedy. United 93 is a film made to capture a brief moment in America’s history, a moment that through chaos and terror, changed many things about the world in which we live.
While watching the credits roll I was struck by something powerful. As the credits for the passengers of flight 93 crept by, I was reminded of the Vietnam Memorial – a black slate with names chiseled into it for all to bear witness. In many ways, as the names of the real people scrolled across screen, I saw the film as a modern day memorial for those who lost their lives aboard United 93 – a memorial fitting for this age of digital information. And best of all, this memorial did not need the approval of Congress; it did not need a budget approved of in Washington; there was not any debate as to where in D.C. this memorial would be placed. United 93 is in fact a digital memorial, and one that can be shown anywhere in the world at any time and by any one with access. It is an instant memorial that works as both a cinematic event, and as a respectful testament of those involved.
