I didn't want to start a new thread about "United 93" as I'm a firm believer in posting on threads that already exist on a particular subject. But the thread on "United 93" is so full of political vitriol having nothing to do with the film that I didn't want to post there.
So here I am.
What an extraordinary film. It is not political. It does not take sides. It is not too soon.
On that last statement, I must say that I avoided the film because I didn't think I could tolerate watching it. My home is 7 miles as the crow flies from the World Trade Center. My dad worked in the World Trade Center before he retired. I liked to hang out in the mall beneath the World Trade Center. Battery Park, adjacent to the WTC, is one of my favorite parks in the City. I smelled smoke in the air for weeks afterwards. Watching anything about that day still feels like a punch to the solar plexus.
I was correct in assessing my reaction to the film. I would have been too distraught to watch it in public. I'm glad I saw it in the privacy of my own home, alone, so that I could cry and talk back to the TV ("I want them back! I want them back," corny though it may be, is what I often cry when I see pictures of the Towers still standing).
The first part of the film is about the unfolding of the events of that day. Neither the airlines, the air traffic controllers, and worst of all, the military, knew what to do. They didn't even know what was happening. We were all getting the same information at the same time, and that was just so wrong.
The hero of that day in this film, in my mind, is the head air traffic controller (who plays himself) who said, "We're at war with someone, and we don't know who it is. We've got to get those planes out of the sky before they take any more." It seems that it was the air traffic control folks who began the landing of all planes flying that day and the banning of all foreign aircraft heading to the US that day.
Because the subject matter is so emotional and explosive, the director had to take a distanced point of view, and he did. The movie is remarkable. It's quiet, tense, and edited magnificently. It's filled with air traffic controllers who played themselves. The cast was peppered with folks who were part of that day.
Paul Greengrass wrote and directed the movie. If it weren't Scorsese's year, I'd say that Greengrass could win an Oscar for best director. It's a shame he's not nominated for best original screenplay.
People on the other "United 93" thread were concerned with exploitation and political agendas. I didn't catch a whiff of either.
What happened on that plane? No one can ever know. I believe Greengrass tried to stick as closely as possible to tapes of phone calls and the cockpit recorder. No passenger was mentioned by name, and the passenger who took charge in the film was not Beamer. It was clear that every passenger reacted uniquely and that everyone was terrified and knew they were facing certain death. That became all the more evident when they learned of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and an explosion of some sort at the Pentagon. In the film, the passengers made it to the cockpit at about the time that the hijackers were crashing the plane into the field. But again, who can know exactly how it went down? This is a film, a recreation of an actual event, and I think it was done magnificently.
So here I am.
What an extraordinary film. It is not political. It does not take sides. It is not too soon.
On that last statement, I must say that I avoided the film because I didn't think I could tolerate watching it. My home is 7 miles as the crow flies from the World Trade Center. My dad worked in the World Trade Center before he retired. I liked to hang out in the mall beneath the World Trade Center. Battery Park, adjacent to the WTC, is one of my favorite parks in the City. I smelled smoke in the air for weeks afterwards. Watching anything about that day still feels like a punch to the solar plexus.
I was correct in assessing my reaction to the film. I would have been too distraught to watch it in public. I'm glad I saw it in the privacy of my own home, alone, so that I could cry and talk back to the TV ("I want them back! I want them back," corny though it may be, is what I often cry when I see pictures of the Towers still standing).
The first part of the film is about the unfolding of the events of that day. Neither the airlines, the air traffic controllers, and worst of all, the military, knew what to do. They didn't even know what was happening. We were all getting the same information at the same time, and that was just so wrong.
The hero of that day in this film, in my mind, is the head air traffic controller (who plays himself) who said, "We're at war with someone, and we don't know who it is. We've got to get those planes out of the sky before they take any more." It seems that it was the air traffic control folks who began the landing of all planes flying that day and the banning of all foreign aircraft heading to the US that day.
Because the subject matter is so emotional and explosive, the director had to take a distanced point of view, and he did. The movie is remarkable. It's quiet, tense, and edited magnificently. It's filled with air traffic controllers who played themselves. The cast was peppered with folks who were part of that day.
Paul Greengrass wrote and directed the movie. If it weren't Scorsese's year, I'd say that Greengrass could win an Oscar for best director. It's a shame he's not nominated for best original screenplay.
People on the other "United 93" thread were concerned with exploitation and political agendas. I didn't catch a whiff of either.
What happened on that plane? No one can ever know. I believe Greengrass tried to stick as closely as possible to tapes of phone calls and the cockpit recorder. No passenger was mentioned by name, and the passenger who took charge in the film was not Beamer. It was clear that every passenger reacted uniquely and that everyone was terrified and knew they were facing certain death. That became all the more evident when they learned of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and an explosion of some sort at the Pentagon. In the film, the passengers made it to the cockpit at about the time that the hijackers were crashing the plane into the field. But again, who can know exactly how it went down? This is a film, a recreation of an actual event, and I think it was done magnificently.
Reading is freedom.
The mind soars, no earthly cares,
no limitations.
A Maggers Haiku, 2005
Years ago my mother used to say to me... "In this world, Elwood, you can be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
Well, for years I was smart.
I recommend pleasant.
You may quote me.
Elwood P. Dowd
Thanks for the very nice review of this Maggers. I have avoided this movie for some of the same reasons you mentioned. I just couldn't stomach the thought that somehow they would have tried to make it a movie taking a political side.
After your review I will give it a watch.
After your review I will give it a watch.
"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." D.O. McKay
"Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected."
~ Red Buttons
Too literal? I'm sorry you feel I have a Literal Agenda!
Excellent review Maggers and I agree 100% (even with watching it in the privacy of my own home!)
