United 93 (2006) Movie Information:

United 93 (2006) Directed by: Paul Greengrass United 93 (2006) Written by: Paul Greengrass United 93 (2006) Cast: Khalid Abdalla, Polly Adams, Opal Alladin, David Alan Basche, Starla Benford, Lisa Colón-Zayas, Gary Commock, Trish Gates, Meghan Heffern, J. J. Johnson, Nancy McDoniel, Simon Poland, Olivia Thirlby

United 93 (2006) U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures United 93 (2006) U.K. Distributor: UIP

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United 93 (2006) Synopsis:

Acclaimed filmmaker Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy) writes and directs an unflinching drama that tells the story of the passengers and crew, their families on the ground and the flight controllers who watched in dawning horror as United Airlines Flight 93 became the fourth hijacked plane on the day of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil: September 11, 2001. Flight 93 recreates the doomed trip in actual time, from takeoff to hijacking to the realization by those onboard that their plane was part of a coordinated attack unfolding on the ground beneath them. The film attempts to understand the abject fear and courageous decisions of those who--over the course of just 90 minutes--transformed from a random assembly of disconnected strangers into bonded allies who confronted an unthinkable situation. As 2006 marks the passing of five years since the epochal events of 9/11, the time has come for contemporary cinema's leading filmmakers to dramatically investigate the events of that day, its causes and its consequences, and the everyday individuals whose fates were forever altered while simply going about their common workday rituals. Greengrass, known for films such as Resurrected and Bloody Sunday, brings to Flight 93 a history of compassionate filmmaking that has explored some of the most troubled incidents of recent world history--when politics turns to violence, when beliefs slip into zealotry. As there is no perfect record of the hijacking's exact details and hostage retaliation, Greengrass takes a careful hand and partially improvises the events with an ensemble cast of unknown actors who were given studies of their Flight 93 counterparts. Flight 93 intends to dignify the memory of those on that flight, the men and women whose sacrifice remains one of the most heroic legacies of the incomprehensible tragedies that unfolded on that autumn morning.

United 93 (2006) Movie Review:

Involving and deeply harrowing, this reconstruction of the events of 11 September 2001 is remarkable for its complete lack of both sentimentality and moralising. It's an expertly assembled drama that throws us right into the story and forces us to live it in a way rarely attempted in cinema.

We watch from two perspectives. There are the mundane details of the United crew and passengers getting ready to travel from Newark to San Francisco. Meanwhile, the national air traffic boss (Sliney, playing himself) watches in horror as three commercial jets crash into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Which of the other 4,200 planes in the air might also be terrorist weapons? Inside United 93, the hijackers finally make their move; but with news of what's been happening in New York and Washington, the passengers respond.

Intriguingly, Greengrass' script never attempts to heighten the drama or the emotion by adding back-stories or even character names. The unfamiliar cast adds a bracingly realistic tone; many air traffic controllers are played by themselves. All of them are profoundly believable, never adding that too-knowing gravitas that often comes with films based on true stories. And Greengrass bravely allows the hijackers to be emotional, brave and complex as well.

The film's early sequences capture the casual humour and weary routine of air travel, and the later scenes are packed with horrific discovery and impossible decision-making. These were normal people caught in a pivotal moment in history. And watching them interact and react is powerfully gripping. And not very easy to watch.

The film is almost unbearably haunting, as tiny details take on huge significance, from the subtle drone of a morning prayer to the banality of an airport departure gate filled with people chatting on mobile phones. These elements pile on top of each other like they do every day of our lives, but in this particular instance it all adds up to something.

This is accomplished through Greengrass' astonishingly off-handed script, which refuses to glamorise either the people or the events. It plays out in such a shockingly authentic way that we feel like we're right there. And what makes this film vitally important is the way it challenges us to examine ourselves without ever making a big statement.

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United 93 (2006) review written by: Rich Cline