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April 29, 2006

United 93

We just got back from watching the film, after taking a few minutes to decompress afterwards. It was a wrenching experience, even going in knowing everything that would happen. But I am glad that I went, as I think it's important to remember what happened on 9/11, and most especially to remember the example set by the passengers and crew of United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers and surviving crew fought back against the hijackers, forcing them to put the plane down in an empty field instead of their intended target. I have seen some comments about the revolt not demonstrating bravery, because the passengers knew they were doomed anyhow, but I have to disagree strongly with that premise. Even knowing one is probably about to die, it takes a degree of courage to stand up against it and try to fight back. In any case, on to the movie.

I've never been a quiet theater before today. No matter how good the film, there is always some level of background noise coming from people (like me) making snide asides about a continuity error or bad piece of dialogue. Not today. As soon as the lights dimmed and the intro began, the theater was silent. This is a testament to the fact the movie portrays not some fictional heroism, nor some heroism from a comfortably safe distance, but the heroism of ordinary people faced with a situation no one should ever have to face. Director Paul Greengrass captures that dynamic beautifully and without stooping either to exploitation or to caricature. The film opens with the terrorist foursome preparing themselves for their mission: reading the Koran, cleansing themselves, and praying. We then follow the crew preparing the aircraft, as well as visiting the various air traffic control centers and FAA Headquarters all preparing for another day's work.

The film is slow until American Airlines Flight 11 hits the north tower, but it is not at all uninteresting as Greengrass sets the stage. When American Airlines 11 disappears from the air traffic controller's screen over Manhattan, the tempo jumps and the audience is caught up in the chaos and confusion of that morning as the controllers and military attempt to determine precisely what was going on. It's difficult not to remember your own memories of that morning as the film chronicles the confusion as people slowly figured out what was happening. Watching the slow realization of the enormity of that morning's events is difficult, but the film captures the feel of September 11 well.

Things really get moving once the hijackers make their move on flight 93. Both the hijackers and the passengers and crew are well cast; there's nobody recognizable, and they all look like real people. While we cannot know precisely what happened on board the aircraft, the relating of the events offers a reasonable interpretation, although I'm sure there will be plenty of people who choose to quibble. But the film does a great job of placing the audience in the position of the passengers and crew, and the final few minutes of the film suck you in to such a degree it took me several minutes to stretch the tension out of my muscles.

United 93 is not an easy film to watch, and it will doubtless give people different impressions, but I think it's well worth seeing.