That the first important and successful piece of cinema about the events of the 11th of September, 2001, should be written and directed by an Englishman seems to suggest a certain unease in American film-makers to tackle a subject that has become taboo. Paul Greengrass here follows the story of both the titular aircraft, the only one of four hijacked that day not to reach its destination, and air traffic control attempting to understand what is happening.
The danger of recreating any sort of tragic event that still burns in recent memory is not that lines will be crossed, but rather that caution can ruin any sense of cinematic worth. Thankfully, Greengrass treads a careful line that panders both to cinéastes and those with emotional attachment. Some of the dialogue is lifted from actual phone calls made by passengers on the flight, but there is no sense of morbid fascination with these calls from the dead. Well acted (including the FAA's operations manager as himself) and unobtrusively shot, the film's dispassionate focus on accuracy builds an excellent tension, whilst at the same time avoiding either over-sentimentality or crassness. There are no manipulative swells of music to pinpoint the moments of tragedy, but nor is there any sensationalisation of the violence inherent in the plot.
One minor sticking point is the timidity of the only European passenger. He and he alone repeatedly insists that no action should be taken against the hijackers, assuming they will land somewhere and be ransomed. Its lazy scripting that has no basis in the reality of anything that is known about the flight.
A powerful film that reaches far beyond the "dramatic reconstruction" sensibilities of most films its type, United 93 is an artistic success that also succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of a pivotal historic moment.
4/5
The danger of recreating any sort of tragic event that still burns in recent memory is not that lines will be crossed, but rather that caution can ruin any sense of cinematic worth. Thankfully, Greengrass treads a careful line that panders both to cinéastes and those with emotional attachment. Some of the dialogue is lifted from actual phone calls made by passengers on the flight, but there is no sense of morbid fascination with these calls from the dead. Well acted (including the FAA's operations manager as himself) and unobtrusively shot, the film's dispassionate focus on accuracy builds an excellent tension, whilst at the same time avoiding either over-sentimentality or crassness. There are no manipulative swells of music to pinpoint the moments of tragedy, but nor is there any sensationalisation of the violence inherent in the plot.
One minor sticking point is the timidity of the only European passenger. He and he alone repeatedly insists that no action should be taken against the hijackers, assuming they will land somewhere and be ransomed. Its lazy scripting that has no basis in the reality of anything that is known about the flight.
A powerful film that reaches far beyond the "dramatic reconstruction" sensibilities of most films its type, United 93 is an artistic success that also succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of a pivotal historic moment.
4/5
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