United 93 DVD > Reviews > MUST-SEE, MUST-CRY

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	completely compelling from start to finish, great acting
Disadvantages:	based on true events that rocked the world

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, I have harboured a somewhat morbid fascination with everything that happened that day. I kept newspapers that came out the day after it, I watched the news all day in the days that followed it, and more recently as the documentaries and dramatisations started to emerge about it, I felt compelled to watch.

Which makes it almost incredible that i wasn't the first in line to the cinema when "United 93" came out, and that it had been out on dvd for more than 6 months before I actually got my hands on it. But last week I saw it advertised on play for five pounds, along with "World Trade Center", and decided to buy them both. I watched "United 93" earlier today, and its effect on me was so intense that I felt I HAD to write about it.

As far as I know, we never found out exactly what happened on flight 93, the only plane which didn't reach its intended destination on September 11th and instead crashed in Pennsylvania. But the fact it didn't end up where it was meant to be, together with the information that has been pieced together from the phone calls loved ones received from the passengers on board, has brought us to the conclusion that the passengers, having heard of the devastation caused already in America that day and realising they would be next, decided that they would have to take matters into their own hands - even if it meant they would all die in the process.

This film looks at the events of that day, not only the dramatisation of what more-than-likely happened on the doomed flight, but also the events unfolding on the ground as air traffic control realised the various planes involved had been hijacked and tried to warn the millitary, while quickly realising to their horror that the planes that had disappeared off their radar were the ones that had just crashed into the twin towers and then the Pentagon. But the main focus is on Flight 93 itself and although the action initially cuts quickly between the flight, the air traffic control and the millitary, the last half hour or so of the film concentrates solely on the real-time events of the flight once the terrorists made their move,

The story is tense from the outset, filmed in an almost documentary style (rather than being the special effect blockbuster we might have expected), and switching between locations rapidly. Because of this, we don't really get to know any of the characters particularly well, but due to the new coverage after 9/11, most of us know about the people who were on the flight. For me, there is a feeling of doom from the outset, because you are seeing these people get onto this plane, most of whom are perfectly content in their lives, and none of them are aware that this the last few hours of their lives, that this is the last flight they will ever take. This caused me to start blubbing within the first five minutes or so of the film.

The film also shows the utter powerless that the people on the ground must have felt, knowing that these planes had been hijacked and only able to watch helplessly as the planes hit their targets and having to continue on with their jobs to try and prevent any further devastation, while knowing that their world will never quite be the same. There is this tangible air of disbelief about the whole thing - the way most of the world felt when we realised what had happened on that day.

The film doesn't use well-known actors - some looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't immediately pinpoint any of them to another role they had played) which was a clever move. Since this film is about real events, it would be confusing to have a big name sitting on that plane with the other cast members. In addition, a lot of the ground staff are played by genuine air traffic controllers - some peope even play themselves, such as Ben Sliney, who gave the order to ground all the flights after the terrorists struck the World Trade Center, and I think this was a truly inspired idea as it makes the film even more real, and even more horrifying ultimately as a result.

The actors may not be well known, and some of them not even real actors, but the acting is superb. Everyone seems so real, even though we don't get to know any of the characters in any particular depth, and the tension and terror they are feeling is palpible. I think the actors who played the terrorists also did a admirable job - I have always thought it would be more fun to play a baddy, but when you are having to play people who existed in real life and are universally loathed for their actions, it must be especally difficult.

I was both gripped and devastated by the film from start to finish, dreading the moment when the terrorists would make their move, knowing of course that it HAD to happen, there was no doubt about this. Just as I knew the ultimate outcome of the flight - yet I couldn't help but dumbly think (like you would when you're watching a movie not based on reality) "Oh maybe they can get out of it somehow". Watching the passengers realise in horror and come to accept that the terrorists aren't merely holding them hostage but ARE going to kill them, and deciding that they would have to do something about it couldn't help but make me wonder what I would do in a similar situation.

I think the film is particularly clever as it shows the bravery of the passengers but doesn't necessarily make them out to be saints. After all, we do not know for sure if they decided if this was going to be a suicide mission, THEY would choose the destination, or whether they simply were fighting to stay alive. What IS clear though is that they were determined the terrorists would not be allowed to create any further tragedy and, for that, they are all heroes. The director, Paul Greengrass, said of the film that the world changed after 9/11, and that the passengers on United 93 (which were the only passengers on any of the four doomed flights who knew the horror of what the terrorists had already "achieved" that day) "were the first people to inhabit the post 9/11 world" - this statement really couldn't be more true.

I think it would take a heart of stone not to shed a tear at all during this movie - and if you manage to make it through most of the film, the heartbreaking calls the passengers make to their loved ones to say goodbye will more than likely be the straw that breaks the camels back. I was absolutely howling, since these were probably pretty much the exact words the victims had said to the people they loved, and it just reminded me of how this was going to end. And not long after these calls, the film, and the lives of the people onboard, DID end.

The memory of the passengers and crew who perished is further preserved and honoured in the (somewhat limited) bonus material on the dvd. There is a documentary showing some of the victim's family members talking about the people they lost in the tragedy, as well as written memorial pages for each of the victims.

As you all know, I'm a chick flick girl through and through and "United 93" is pretty far removed from that. But it gets five stars from me, although I think I would feel uncomfortable saying that I "loved it" - it just doesn't seem right to say that. But it is a must-see as far as I'm concerned - not simply because it is completely engrossing and a great piece of film making, but because it also shows the true horrors of terrorism as well as the courage of the passengers on the flight. Okay, the experience may be one of the most tense and harrowing you will experience watching a film - but that's nothing compared to what those passengers experienced.