In the 22-plus years since the Sept. 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks, there have been in excess of 100 films and TV shows produced globally. Although I haven’t watched them all, I’ve seen most, and it saddens me to say that the majority of them are rubbish.
Not only is “United 93” the only worthwhile movie about 9/11, it is unlike any other film ever made.
Once United Flight 93 became airborne, the narrative begins, being presented in real time. It contains elements of drama, docudrama, thriller, and cinéma vérité yet is practically beyond exact genre categorization.
No Names, No Histories
None of the characters are addressed or referred to by name, and there are no backstories provided for any of them. There is no lead character, and there are over 100 speaking roles, with less than one-third of those being given multiple lines of dialogue.
These unorthodox casting and screenplay choices by writer-director and co-producer Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday,” “Captain Phillips,” and three “Jason Bourne” installments) lend the production an immeasurable level of realism. A filmmaker who often goes overboard with handheld cameras, Mr. Greengrass keeps that in check here, adding yet another layer of “you-are-there” believability.
At this point, you might be asking yourself (and me) if there were no survivors on Flight 93, how could Mr. Greengrass possibly know what took place on the plane?
On the DVD commentary track, Mr. Greengrass states that his script was based on findings revealed in the official 2002 U.S. “9/11 Commission Report” and recorded voicemail messages left by passengers to their loved ones. They were able to do so with airphones on the plane and, once the airplane dropped in altitude, standard cellphones.
Not a Hostage Situation
It was also during some of these calls that the passengers were informed of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and quickly surmised that theirs was not a hostage situation, but rather a Muslim-based terrorist attack and suicide mission. This was solidified by one of the passengers who noticed the plane changing direction from west to southeast. Flight 93 departed from Newark, New Jersey, and was bound for San Francisco.Flight 93 was delayed for departure by 40 minutes, which put the terrorists in a precarious position. They knew they had limited time to commandeer the plane, and the delay greatly handicapped them.
This was compounded when group leader Ziad Jarrah (Khalid Abdalla) began having moral doubts about the mission and developing cold feet. Jarrah waited a crucial 50 minutes after liftoff before initiating the hijacking, something that visibly irritated his co-conspirators and eventually gave the passengers a marked offensive advantage.
United 93 Fighting Back
These men, the flight crew, and the majority of the other passengers came to the consensus that death was inevitable and imminent and decided to overtake the terrorists. There was discussion on regaining control of the aircraft, but this soon gave way to the realization that the only way to defeat the terrorists was to take over and purposefully crash the plane, thus saving countless lives at the target site (inferred here to be the U.S. Capitol Building).
The 9/11 attacks forever changed not only the future lives of every American but, in one way or another, all humans on the planet. It was one of, if not the darkest day in the history of our country.
There were many EMT, police, and fire heroes born on that fateful day in New York City and Washington, and their collective efforts will never be forgotten. Few of us could imagine the amount of fortitude, bravery, and valor required by the Americans traveling on Flight 93 on 9/11 to carry out such a selfless act. They didn’t sign up to fight fire, fight crime, or provide medical assistance. They were people just like us living their lives, yet they made the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow man. Their actions above an empty field in rural Pennsylvania were beyond inspirational; they were life-affirming in the most glorious of ways.
