When I saw this on the big screen, earlier this year, I thought that I was ready for it. I thought that I had prepared myself enough to see it. I was wrong. I was greatly and deeply moved by what I saw on the screen.
I do not know how close this film is to reality. No one will ever know exactly what happened, what events led to the crash of United flight 93. However, what pieces we know, from phone calls and the black box, and whatever other sources are available, I have no problem believing that this is what happened.
United 93 is a difficult film to review, as it really isn't a complete film, in the traditional sense. There is no story to speak of. There is no beginning, it just starts. There is no end, just a stop to this chapter as the story is ongoing and the saga has not yet been completed. The film is a slice of life, a tragic and heroic moment in our history, one that will not be forgotten.
The film is presented in a fly on the wall manner. No side is taken, there are no political agendas. We are placed inside these events, not physically, but to bear historical witness. We are taken back in time to that fateful day and placed right there, to experience what they experienced, to see what they see.
Writer/director Paul Greengrass has delivered a powerful film. He has recreated a period of time to the best detail that he was able to manage. He has given us a film that pays tribute to the heroic passengers of Flight 93. This is no Hollywood action film, this is no blockbuster. You will not find big name stars mugging for the camera, nor you will not see any hero moments or groundswell of music as a final heroic charge is mounted. The film feels authentic, and that is the best praise that I can give it. I feel that I know what happened, I feel that I have seen what happened, while intellectually know that I do not, sometimes the feeling is more important.
Watching it for the second time, in the privacy of my home, I did not have the same feeling of having that nearly healed wound ripped open that I felt while at the theater. I still felt many of the same effects I did then, but I felt more in control. Perhaps it was the ability to stop the film if I had to, or the ability to walk away, whatever the case I was more steeled to what was to come. There is something to be said about knowing the fate of these people, while they move around on the screen, completely unaware of what they were about to be faced with.
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