There are two things to be thankful for when it comes to the new film about the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 United 93. First, that director Paul Greengrass was the one to thoughtfully explore the horror of that day, and second, that Netflix subscriptions have allowed us to skip it in the cinema. Because, honestly, sitting through the hour and 40 minutes (that feels like two and a half hours) that is United 93 is nothing but a depressing exercise.
Greengrass has covered all his bases and produced a somber, gripping film that is worth seeing once, but only under the correct circumstances, and sitting in a darkened theater while patrons munch on popcorn is not one of them.
The film, while titled United 93, is as much about what went on behind the scenes as it is about what transpired on the doomed aircraft. Several of the real air traffic controllers involved on September 11th play themselves in these scenes that comprise over half the film, reenacting their confusion, frustration and horror. The authenticity of their performances is appreciated, but their ham-fisted line delivery is not.
Greengrass attempts authenticity across the board, and conducted extensive research with the air traffic controllers, the victim’s families and the Pentagon in order to sketch an accurate picture of what did happen, what might have happened. Each one of the largely unknown actors cast to play flight 93’s passengers was given an extensive character sketch of the person they were to portray, and many of them exchanged phone calls and emails with their characters’ family members. As a result, the most harrowing scenes of the film are the most authentic, when the passengers have accepted their fate and call their loved ones to say goodbye.
But then there are the terrorists. Like everyone else in the film, they have no names, and are not overly characterized. They are the villains of the piece, but Greengrass also makes a point to humanize them. We see the lead terrorist phoning someone in Germany to tell them he loves them. We get inter-cut shots of the terrorists and passengers praying, though in different languages, and for different things.
It is then all the more shocking when the film culminates in a prolonged, violent scene where the passengers of United 93 bash in a hijacker’s head with a fire extinguisher, and ram another repeatedly with a food cart. The agonizingly long sequence is Greengrass’ only moment of gratuitousness, where you can’t help but question, “Surely it was a violent death, but did it really happen like this, and is this really necessary?” Grade: B+