United 93

United 93 is a film I knew I should see, but probably wouldn’t have, except that my Thursday Bible Study group decided that we would. I’m glad I did.

The film begins with four young men in their hotel rooms, praying, shaving, preparing. We see passengers arriving at the airport, checking in, chatting on cell phones - things we’ve all seen many times at airports. Then United 93 immerses us into the events of 9/11 in real-time, beginning around 8:15 am when Air Traffic Controller Ben Sliney (who plays himself) walks into the National Air Traffic Command Center in Herndon, VA, and ending with the crash at 10:03 am of United Airlines Flight 93 into a field near Shanksville, PA. In between is a grim, gut-wrenching journey where ordinary people courageously respond the best way they can to a world that has shifted off its axis. On the film’s official web site, Director Paul Greengrass says that the 40 passengers and crew “were the first to inhabit our new and terrifying post 9/11 world.”

“The terrible dilemma those passengers faced is the same one we have been struggling with ever since. Do we sit passively and hope this all turns out okay? Or do we fight back and strike at them before they strike at us? And what will be the consequences if we do?”

The genius of United 93 is perspective. The film makes no judgments, no political statements. There is no explanation of why the terrorists do what they do - no Osama bin Laden, Al Qaida, or the Taliban. We get no background information on the passengers (their names aren’t even mentioned). The effect is to place the viewer on the plane with a group of strangers to experience what they experience.

It is the group that is heroic in this tragedy. In about 20 minutes’ time, they learn through phone calls with family about the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, they make the decision to act, and they fight back.

United 93 is based on the two dozen phone calls the passengers made to loved ones, as well as about 20 minutes of cockpit recordings recovered from the plane. Though the details of much of what took place must be speculated, those phone calls are heartbreaking because we know they are real. But Greengrass doesn’t exploit our emotions or the passengers themselves. We overhear these conversations almost in the background, as if we were listening from a seat across the aisle.

United 93 is not only an important film, it is excellent and even beautiful. The intro screen on the web site contains two words: “Never forget.” That is, in essence, the purpose of United 93.

May 13, 2006 · Filed Under Movies

Comments

One Response to “United 93”

  1. Joanie on May 16th, 2006 9:08 am

    I’m glad we saw this movie as a group. As the intensity increased, I went back a few rows to make sure Mom was still breathing. She took a deep breath and remembered that she was not on the plane, (didn’t hurt to remind myself also). I highly recommend seeing this one.

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