Review of United 93

Introduction

I really wasn`t sure how to start this review off seeing as how I`ve previously reviewed Flight 93, so I`ve decided to just cut and paste the intro as that makes more sense to me than writing something completely different for what is essentially the same subject…

On September 11th 2001 an event of true historic proportions occurred and the term 9/11 entered the public consciousness as meaning more than just the number dialed for the US emergency services. Hijackers seized commercial airliners and used them as weapons. Two hit the World Trade Center, reducing it to dust before our very eyes. Eyes that were glued to either TV screens or the internet as a new era of terrorism emerged. A third plane, although not according to the many conspiracy theorists the world over, hit the Pentagon in a strike directly at the heart of the US military.

What happened to the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, is not quite as clear. That it was hijacked and eventually crashed is seemingly beyond dispute. What is arguable, by some at least, is that this doomed flight was shot down before it was capable of hitting either the White House or the Capitol Building. To me, this is irrelevant. This plane contained a group of passengers, men and women thrown together by chance, who decided to fight back and sacrificed their lives to save more people from dying.

This is their story.

Video

Despite being filmed in anamorphic 2.35:1 this film has a documentary feel to it, which is apt given Paul Greengrass` pedigree (Omagh, Bloody Sunday, The Fix, The Murder of Stephen Lawrence). The picture is somewhat spoiled by the continuous presence of a `Property of United Pictures International` banner across the top of the picture, not sure how UPI came to the conclusion that this would be a major target for piracy as many people will probably shy away from this.

There are a lot of handheld shots, which helps give the sense of both claustrophobia and chaos that would have been present in that plane. The scenery is rarely seen through the plane windows, unfocussed glimpses mainly, until it becomes very vivid at the end.

There is clearly some CGI for when the shots where the smoke is seen billowing from the first tower, and you only get to the see the rest of the events pan out on news footage, same as happened on the day. It was the right way to go and I`m doubtful many FX houses would have wanted to put together a shot of that kind.

Audio

A rather muted 5.1 track, but then it didn`t need to do anything else. In fact it`s remarkably similar in treatment to that of Flight 93, the TV movie that came out before this one. Relatively little music, no stirring musical themes and no dramatic speeches.

The dialogue felt authentic, there were mistakes when people spoke, but it just felt natural in the way people do make mistakes when speaking under pressure. This was generally during the Military and Civilian air traffic controller scenes. These scenes also had an abundance of chatter through them, as you would expect from busy work environments such as these, and the sudden silence as they see either the second plane go into the WTC or the explosion at the Pentagon is shattering.

Both the film and commentary are well subtitled.

For some reason the soundtracks are locked and you cannot switch between them.

Features

United 93: The Families and the Film - an hour long feature that introduces us to the families of some of those lost on the flight as they meet the actors who would be playing their loved ones and talking about their experiences. We get to hear about their hopes and fears for the film and then get to hear their reactions after seeing it. It`s quite sobering to watch and quite powerful in places, emotions run very high but all are unanimous in their praise and to be honest their opinion counts more than anyone else`s.

Memorial Pages - this feature provides text details of each of the passengers so that you can understand a bit more about their lives and what they really looked like. This is the one feature that this DVD needed, the rest is welcome but pretty much superfluous.

Commentary - although factual in parts as you would expect from a film commentary, Greengrass spends much of his time in a philosophical mood for the duration of the film. He is extremely respectful of both the subject and the families involved, saying nothing during parts that really need no words and providing the right kind of commentary for this kind of film.

Conclusion

What amazed me about this film for the most part was how banal it was. Not that I was bored, but just how ordinary a day it was, nothing special happening (yet). The opening first 45 minutes or so, and you could be watching an episode of reality TV series Airport or something. All the dialogue is small talk, whether from the passengers or both the civilian and military air traffic controllers (all of whom were professionals and some of whom were on duty on that day…). You get the sense of an ordinary working day, systems essentially running things with people monitoring as always and then an impending sense of foreboding as things start to happen that they just aren`t expecting.

The scope of this film is wider than Flight 93 where the focus on the film was essentially the passengers and their families. Here you don`t get to see the families as Greengrass goes for a wider perspective and spends the first 45 minutes setting the scene for passengers of flight 93. You get to see the relative calm of the various air traffic control centres and just how quickly and unbelievably things spiralled out of their control. It`s a brave move to have a large segment of your filmed populated by non-actors (the stewardesses and pilots were also professionals rather than just actors), but as I`ve said previously it`s got the feel of a documentary and you almost get a sense that the reactions we`re getting may just be as if a camera crew was filming in those areas on that morning. They perform magnificently, each and every one of them, and you forget that this is not their paid job. The mistakes are there, right in front of you, as they happened on the day, no cover-ups. You really get a much better idea of how, despite their professional training, the events of 9/11 were so unimaginable that people just couldn`t comprehend quickly enough what was happening.

Special words must go to Ben Sliney, a man who took control of the skies for the first time that day and within hours had taken the unprecedented step of grounding all air traffic and closed the skies into and above America. As with the rest, his is a professional but under-stated performance but he oozes leadership and authority. He and his teams also play it like it was, no stopping to explain jargon or even bin it. They just perform their jobs as they did on that day and every other day that they are at work. This enhances the documentary feel and despite not knowing what a `squawk 7500` was amongst many other technical terms, I just went with the flow, accepting that this is how our skies are controlled.

When it comes to the passengers, there are no standout performances. They`re all very good but all under-stated and treat equally. The chat feels natural, despite the circumstances they are discussing, and the decisions they come to and the reactions they give seems authentic and completely natural and human. The eponymous `Let`s roll` phrase by Todd Beamer is almost thrown away and lost in the dialogue. It`s there, but no real significance is attached to it, which is a good thing in my view.

The tension really mounts in that last 15 minutes or so, you`re willing these people on and still hoping that they can turn things around, despite knowing in your heart that it will never happen. It`s a crushing false hope borne out from the fact that survival instinct is a very human quality and you are literally willing them to survive. History and common sense tells you this won`t happen, but you can`t help yourself until the screen abruptly turns black and silent at the end.

As with Flight 93, it`s a very emotional ride. Not everyone will like this, some will inevitably say it`s too soon, but I`ll leave with a quote from one of the relatives.

"It`s never too soon."