This review originally appears in The American Thinker
There is a moment in the film United 93 where director Paul Greengrass takes a small step backward from the unrelenting intimate universe into which he has boldly thrust the audience and allows a glimmer of the larger truth of September 11 to be revealed.
Having committed themselves to their heroic effort to take back the cockpit, the passengers are in position in the back of the plane, the larger, stronger men occupying the first three rows closest to the terrorists. Then, it hits you. The look on their faces as they steel themselves to make the attempt mirrors exactly the looks on the faces of the hijackers just prior to their attack as the terrorists also had to summon up the courage to carry out their dastardly deed.
Whether intended or not, Greengrass reveals the faces of men at war. And even though there are no grand, overarching truths about humanity, or good and evil, or the superiority of one set of beliefs over another in U-93 (there is a short scene toward the end of the film that shows both passengers and terrorists praying), the singular fact that “they” attacked us and “we” fought back cannot be denied, cannot be hidden despite the desperate attempt by some over the last 5 years to do so. We are at war.
And for those who insist that we are not, that the War on Terror is some gigantic plot of the Bush Administration to win elections, or seize power, or exercise some kind of monarchical control over the American people, United 93 at bottom, shows this kind of 9/10 thinking to be seriously deluded.
Indeed, there has been an attempt by many on the left to make war on the War on Terror itself, as if the enemy is not thousands of fanatical Muslims hell bent on killing Americans but rather a domestic ideology that seeks to prevent such a catastrophe. For at bottom, what many on the left seek to obscure is the simple necessity of acknowledging that a conflict exists in the first place. On an existential level, they can deny the reality of war by turning cause and effect on its head by justifying terrorism as a logical outgrowth of US policies in the Middle East or toward Muslims in general. It is this intellectual dishonesty that is successfully countered by U-93 in its brutally simple yet deeply emotional subtext; a reminder of what it was like to be an American that day.
There is no overt political context to the film which is why it succeeds so brilliantly. Its unflinching look at the failures of government on that day points no fingers, takes no names, assigns no blame. Instead, the almost documentary nature of the movie allows Greengrass to explore a particular theme that the 9/11 Commission tried to bring out but failed miserably in doing so due to the intrusion of partisan politics in its public hearings: The United States of America was fast asleep on September 11. And the wake up call found us all in a state of denial so profound that the resulting paralysis by the military, by the government – by all of us – contributed in no small way to the scope and dimension of the tragedy.
This is where the psychic pain for the audience is at its worst; watching first the disbelief, then the concern, then the near panic of total confusion as the FAA, air traffic controllers, and even the military all watch helplessly as their operations sputter and limp, eventually grinding to a muddled halt. The Air Force Colonel’s plaintive cry to his superior, “I have two planes to defend the entire east coast” while watching the Twin Towers burning on the wall sized monitor in front of him elicits empathy for his plight while at the same time engendering outrage that our $300 billion military could be reduced to such impotence.
Similar feelings are evoked watching as the FAA tries to understand what is taking place in the skies over America that morning. Operations Manager Ben Sliney (playing himself in the movie) does not stint in portraying himself as befuddled as the rest of his staff as reports start coming in from all over the country about hijacked airplanes, whether or not they are still in the air, and where they are. There are times when their confusion becomes almost farcical as they are first unable to talk to anyone at the “Hijack Desk” except a janitor who happens to be cleaning the conference room and then their all important military liaison is nowhere to be found.
But it was in the air traffic control rooms in New York, Boston, and Cleveland where the confusion was at its most chilling. The New York controller handling United 175 that eventually crashed into the second tower grew more and more frustrated as the drama unfolded, the tension in his voice rising the closer the plane got to the city. As the plane dropped off the radar, the audience knowing it had plowed into the North Tower, he pathetically kept trying to raise the plane on the radio, unaware of the enormous tragedy that had just engulfed the country. Similar scenes in the other control rooms were equally heartbreaking as one by one, the aircraft dropped off the radar screens, the full import of the aircraft’s disappearance from their flickering monitors lost in their disbelief and utter confusion.
A large part of the film’s success can be attributed to Mr. Greengrass’s spare and unemotional script. By writing and filming in cinéma vérité , Greengrass avoided many pitfalls that a more traditional approach would have opened up, not the least of which would have been the temptation for including declaratory speeches by hijackers and passengers alike. As it was, the sheer ordinariness of both the characters and the dialogue contributed immensely the horror of what was happening on the plane as well as the heroic nature of the passengers.
From a technical standpoint, the film succeeds brilliantly on several levels. The extensive use of the hand held camera by cinematographer Barry Ackroyd often gives the unsettling feeling that the viewer is in the middle of the action on the screen. This is especially true at FAA Headquarters and the various air traffic control rooms in Boston, New York, and Cleveland. As the controllers struggle to understand what is happening in the skies over America and desperation begins to creep into their discussions, the audience finds themselves in the middle of these conversations as the camera pans quickly back and forth, focusing on the puzzled faces of the technicians as the horrible reality of what is happening begins to dawn on them.
The editing by Clare Douglas and Christopher Rouse is clean and crisp, approaching a sublime level of near perfection during the attacks on the cockpit by first the terrorists then the passengers. The claustrophobic setting of the film – the inside of a commercial airliner – presented enormous problems, especially sequences filmed in the cockpit. It is a testament to the editors’ skill that both attacks elicited searing, emotional responses from the audience.
The percussive and synthesized score by John Powell was mostly unobtrusive, jarring us awake at appropriate places in the film with hammer-like percussion blows to the heart as when the terrorists rose from their seats to begin their attack – a perfect low-key compliment to the film’s intimate setting.
And it is that intimacy that draws us in and nails the audience to their seats. We do not get to “know” any of the characters in any traditional sense. There is very little exposition since everyone knows what the outcome will be. Instead, Greengrass allows the events themselves to simply unfold in as close to real time as possible, making no judgements about either the hijackers or the passengers. Even the one passenger who sought to warn the terrorists, fearful that any attempt to take back the plane would kill them all, is portrayed in a neutral manner (although the fact that the gentleman spoke with a vaguely European accent is an interesting aside nonetheless).
In the end, Greengrass lets the story do all his talking. A wise choice since the it would have been a relatively simple matter to have made a histrionic, flag waving spectacular instead of the intensely personal drama U-93 turned out to be. For some, that intensity will open old emotional wounds from 9/11 making it very difficult for them to see this film. I would urge them to make the effort anyway. For United 93 will not heal the hurt but rather recall in a vividly personal, emotionally charged manner who and what caused our souls to be scorched that terrible day.
The farther we get from 9/11, the more urgent that reminder becomes. We’ve already had one wake-up call. Is it necessary for the fanatics to give us another?
UPDATE
Libertas has an excellent review of the film, echoing many of the themes I touch on here, although the reviewer is disappointed that Greengrass failed to provide much in the way of a moral context.
10:20 am
This is by far, the best review I have read on United 93. I am going to go see this film either today or tonight. No drinks, no popcorn….lotsa Kleenex.
10:22 am
When is it too soon to honor our “first heroes” of September 11, 2001? Maybe that is the unspoken gripe from “seditious traitors” who don’t wish to have heroes to speak of or remind us that not all of us step up to doing our duty when events call.
Our next heroes were our First Responders to the scenes. Is it too soon to honor them also?
How about our military? Ok, they say I’ve gone too far now, why the very idea of honoring our military will lead to all sorts of trouble i.e. flag waving, hand over heart things. So they wish to nip the honoring of things in the bud. Screw’em, let’s sing loud and clear!
10:43 am
[...] The most comprehensive blog review thus far is Rick Moran’s: In the end, Greengrass lets the story do all his talking. A wise choice since … it would have been a relatively simple matter to have made a histrionic, flag waving spectacular instead of the intensely personal drama U-93 turned out to be. For some, that intensity will open old emotional wounds from 9/11 making it very difficult for them to see this film. I would urge them to make the effort anyway. For United 93 will not heal the hurt but rather recall in a vividly personal, emotionally charged manner who and what caused our souls to be scorched that terrible day. [...]
10:54 am
Purple Barney:
Your comment was deleted for being so off topic that it wasn’t even from the same planet.
10:55 am
Hillary in 08, and it can’t come soon enough to suit me! No more of the Bush crime family and the fascists and theocrats that vote for them.
You know, I try very hard not to allow my disagreement with those on the left to lead to a general disdain for the people that hold to that particular ideology.
Comments like this, though, on such a well-written post make that goal quite a bit harder.
10:56 am
Whoops. Sorry, Rick. I just reposted the comment. Feel free to delete both.
10:57 am
Slu:
What? You want me to delete “such a well written post?”
What are ya, nuts? (lol)
1:06 pm
What a brilliant review. You have a way of bringing to the surface all of those feelings from five years ago. Thank God this film was not hijacked by the Left. Thank God.
1:14 pm
Brilliant review. I can’t say I can’t wait to see the movie because it depicts so terrible an event, but I am certain to see it after reading your review.
2:28 pm
[...] VINCE AUT MORIRE VODKAPUNDIT WALLO WORLD WHAT ATTITUDE PROBLEM? WIDE AWAKES WIZBANG WUZZADEM WHAT’S WRONG WITH UNITED 93? JUST ASK DANA UNITED 93: A ROUND UP OF REVIEWS UNITED 93: A REVIEW RICKY’S FABLES THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN ISGOSS ZEROING IN ON VIPS? CHICAGO: THE ONLY NUCLEAR, SMOKING, AND FOIE GRAS FREE ZONE IN AMERICA THIEVES IN THE NIGHT FROM HERE ON OUT, THE AMNESTY PROGRAM IS A REPUBLICAN ISSUE CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: GUESS WHICH SIDE THE PRESS IS ON? CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: 3 SIDES OF THE SAME COIN CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: THE VIPS CONNECTION THE OTHER SHOE DROPS CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: TY COBB AIN’T NO BENCHWARMER CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: THE BIRD THAT ISN’T SINGING EAT YOUR HEART OUT CINDY SHEEHAN DEFEND DISSENT: PUNISH THE LEAKERS CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: McCARTHY AND THE DC REVOLVING DOOR CIA VS THE WHITE HOUSE: THE LONE PARTISAN? CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: WALKING BACK SLOWLY CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: GOOD LEAKS OR BAD? CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE: THE LEAKER AND THE SQUEALER ARE YOU “OVER” 9/11 YET? CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS #41 “24″ (55) ABLE DANGER (10) Bird Flu (5) Blogging (80) Books (7) CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS (66) CHICAGO BEARS (9) CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE (20) Cindy Sheehan (12) Ethics (53) General (276) Government (34) History (51) IMMIGRATION REFORM (6) Iran (20) KATRINA (26) Katrina Timeline (4) Marvin Moonbat (14) Media (77) Middle East (24) Moonbats (45) Open House (1) Politics (166) Science (14) Space (12) Supreme Court (19) War on Terror (105) WATCHER’S COUNCIL (42) WORLD POLITICS (39) WORLD SERIES (14) Admin Login Register Valid XHTML XFN [...]
4:21 pm
Just got back and posted my review. Thought the film was superb, although there were some jarring bits. Did we really need to see the bloody hand after they attacked the first hijacker? That’s cliched.
Plus they had Beamer saying the Our Father, not the 23rd Psalm.
I actually felt the first half of the film was just distanced enough to avoid overloading us; the second half was overwhelming.
4:35 pm
Reviews of Flight 93
Lots of people going to see the movie about United Flight 93 this weekend. AllahPundit has a link roundup of reviews over at HotAir.com. The best of the best amongst the blogger reviews comes from Right Wing Nuthouse’s Rick Moran, who follows u…
7:28 pm
I just love comments like Mrs. Stevens’—-NOT! She says the movie doesn’t have a point. Who says it has to? Who says every movie or book ever written has to have a “hidden message”? Maybe the author is (gasp!) just trying to tell a story! In this case, though, there is a point, which is to (*shudder*) HONOR the heroes. Yes, HEROES, those just-doing-my-job type of people whom early leftists in the 1960s decided we didn’t need. It’s just that sort of thing that started revisionist history in the first place.
/
Sorry about the frothing rant, but I believe a special place in Hell should be reserved for those who insist there must be a hidden message in every story. I once had a college professor who spent an entire semester trying to whack one out of “Deliverance,” of all things. And the obvious ecologic message wouldn’t do; it had to be something deeper, more hidden….
SHEESH!
7:58 pm
[...] and Right Wing Nut House: [...]
8:13 pm
Thank you Rick for the best review of the day for the best movie of the year.
There are several moments in this film that will make you feel exactly the way you felt that morning.
We have all been and sat next to, people exactly like the people on flight 93.
I have a whole new respect for flight controllers.
10:06 pm
Saturday Linkfest
I have to take the kid to a birthday party, so I don’t have much time today for bloggging. I’ll send you to a few spots of interest today. Otherwise, feel free to use this as an open post to promote your own stuff.
Captain’s Quart…
10:24 pm
If the complacents get their way we will see this again, only it will be a new target and the statistics will be much worse.
I wonder what our response will be when an attack on one of our hundreds of potentially devastating soft spots kills hundreds of thousands or even millions?
If Iran was led by a smart man he would make every effort to make sure that didn’t happen.
Does what Iran is doing now have the appearance of being led by intelligence?
12:43 am
At the very end of the movie some text appears that says: (paraphrasing) “This film is dedicated to all those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001.”
I understand the sentiment. However, included in “all those who lost their lives” are the Islamofascist terrorists. It would’ve been better if the dedication of the film was directed at the innocent, not the guilty.
2:35 am
I have to the film lived up to my expectations, which were very high. The director chooses to seat us alongside the passengers and everyong else involved to give a feeling of being “close in”.
6:18 am
United 93
Rick Moran has the most comprehensive critique so far, and being a movie buff like myself, with similar taste, has the best in depth review and most probably the closest to what I would have written…He comes back for more, taking an almighty swing at…
4:14 pm
“United 93”
Last night Mrs. ShrinkWrapped and I saw United 93. It was a very intense, often harrowing, experience. Since we knew the outcome from the start, the tension came from the filmmakers ability to induce an effortless suspension of disbelief; you
9:17 pm
Furtive Glances – 20 K’s Edition
The NFL Draft story is on the menu, but it’s not first. The Beatles’ Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band starts with the line It was 20 years ago today, Sargeant Pepper taught the band to play. Well, it was
2:17 pm
I’ve linked you to my own list of reviews: http://eagleandelephant.blogspot.com/2006/04/flight-93-remembering-heroes-updated.html.
I like your review. Thanks.
2:50 pm
Let’s Role: REview, United 93
But I couldn’t cry during United 93: there was simply no time . . . I walked six miles to see it. It was worth every step.
2:53 pm
Fantastic review. I said much the same things, though not quite as well.
12:24 am
Submitted for Your Approval
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
10:33 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House, United 93:Â a Review” [...]
1:17 am
The Council Has Spoken!
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are The Last Boat Out of Liverpool by …
11:51 pm
[...] Left looks at politician gasoline hypocrisy. Bloggers review United 93….we especially enjoyed Rightwing Nuthouse’s take. If you have a post you want to share with us, please link to this post and send a trackback. It [...]