Freelance Writing Jobs | Today's Articles | Sign In

United 93

Director Paul Greengrass' Film about the 9/11 Attacks

Nov 10, 2008 Martyn Coppack

This film highlights the bravery of the passengers of United 93 on the day when America faced its worst ever terrorist attack.

United 93 tells of the events that happened on 9/11, focusing on the passengers who fought back against the terrorist and brought down their plane in a field in Pennsylvania. Told in real time it is an extraordinary, moving account which highlights the bravery of the passengers.

Paul Greengrass - Brit Director

Paul Greengrass is a British director who has since taken Hollywood by storm with his Bourne films. It seems like a strange choice then for him to tackle a subject which focuses on a real American event such as 9/11. Perhaps because he is British he manages not to fall into the trap of over-sentimentalizing the events of the day, and produces a powerful film without over-schmaltzy patriotism.

With a cast of unknowns the film shows events in real time on the morning when everything changed for the American people. Filmed in quasi-documentary style it adds a reality which never falls into the trap of stereotype. Extremely well researched with conversations with the families who lost members on the plane it is a grim but ultimately uplifting film of the human spirit.

Documentary Of Human Bravery

Coming out so soon after 9/11 it would have been very difficult to find the right balance for a film like this. Greengrass' film succeeds and manages to paint a steady picture where even the terrorists characters are not stereotypical. Needless to say, the message comes through loud and clear that what they did was a cowardly act although he doesn't try to explain the motivations behind their actions. In fact - like the cast of the film who were kept away from the terrorist characters during filming - the viewer doesn't know anything about them.

The wider picture is shown through scenes in air traffic control and the planes crashing into the World Trade Centre still shock but Greengrass' plan to focus on the one plane brings a human focus into play. The dialogue is disjointed and never really becomes a straight narrative, much as it would seem in real life. The camera style jerks about between the people who are talking as if it is a head trying to keep up with events.

The result of this is that by the end of the film we feel like we have been a fly on the wall during the flight and feel very intensely the emotions of those aboard and their fight against the terrorists is immense.

There are been a few films about that day now and countless documentaries but this one seems to hit right at the heart of what it must have been like for the passengers. The results of their actions are well known, but Greengrass has turned it into a triumphant account of the human spirit and its bravery in the face of frightening circumstances.

The copyright of the article United 93 in Film Dramas is owned by Martyn Coppack. Permission to republish United 93 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.