In a year of notable documentaries and faux-documentaries, United 93, a film that fictionalizes part of the events of September 11, 2001, stands out as one of the most real, in every sense of the word.   

British director Paul Greengrass combines his documentary savoir-faire with his action movie résumé to make a movie more meticulously crafted than the average documentary and more adrenaline-pumping than the average Bruckheimer film.  Using a hand-held camera, a top-notch ensemble cast, and a collective painting of one fateful morning, Greengrass recreates the drama and tragedy of 9/11 in real-time.   His use of actual aviation officials, air traffic controls, pilots, flight attendants, and military personnel only adds to the film's authenticity.

As hard as it is to sit through this film, it's easy to watch and imagine the myriad ways the film could've been transformed into a disgusting exploitation.  Thankfully, Greengrass smartly refrains from cliché one-liners. Passenger Todd Beamer's famous "Let's roll" line could've easily destroyed this film's integrity, had it been placed in the hands of someone who might've opportunistically converted it into a battle cry to cue the climactic theme music. 

The talented company of actors — none who are famous and some who aren't even actors — milk the most out of ordinary lines like "Tell my family I love them." The script intentionally lacks an ounce of poetic or artfully crafted bumper-sticker dialogue, serving as a chilling reminder of the words each of us — even the poets among us — would likely utter in such a situation. 

Greengrass also manages to portray the hijackers in a way that humanizes them and exposes their vulnerabilities, in sharp contrast to the cartoonish ways the administration and numerous pundits have branded them as simply "the terrorists" or "evil."  When we see them pray or call family to express love, we see a fear, love, and religious piety that foreshadows what the other passengers exhibit, hours later.  Their unconscionable decision competes for the audience's rage with the slow response of the White House.  (Before the end credits, the audience learns "Military commanders were not notified that United 93 had been hijacked until four minutes after it had been hijacked.  The nearest fighter jets were 100 miles away.")  Their inaction, of course, sets up the need for the civilians onboard the plane to save the Capitol building.

Greengrass's DVD commentary includes smart ruminations on everything from the hijackers' act of hijacking the tolerant tenets of Islam to his decision to cut the original opening scene set in Osama bin Laden's camp in impoverished Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.