cross-posted at skippy as well as a literal cornucopia of other community blogs.
mr. and mrs. skippy saw united 93 yesterday, and it was one of the most powerful film experiences they had ever witnessed.
we believe that every american should see this movie. of course, the events inside the cabin of that ill-fated flight will never be precisely known, and this movie does not claim to be an accurate representation thereof (a disclaimer stating as much comes at the end of the film), but it seemed to be a reasonable interpretation of what could have happened, how the passengers and crew dealt with the unthinkable that thrust itself into their path.
our review after the jump:
the movie re-creates the growing confusion and horror in various control towers throughout the country, including boston logan’s airport, newark, cleveland and also at norad headquarters and the national air traffic control center in herndon, virginia. several of the actual people invovled in the events in these control towers, both civilian and military, played themselves in the movie, giving it quite a sense of authenticity. (an interesting thread in the norad scenes involved trying to find the president to get “shoot-down” authority, which, a title card explained at the end of the movie, was eventually received, but ultimately not passed on to the pilots).
writer and director paul greengrass wisely used relatively unknown actors for the most part, so the audience keyed in on the events and the people, and not the person playing the part (tho mrs. skippy did recognize sledgehammer’s david rasche as one passenger who helped to storm the hi-jackers, and denny dillon, once on snl, was also in the cast).
the special effects were also amazing. the image of the twin towers burning on the horizon through the windows of the newark control tower, while the air traffic controllers were trying futilely to get on top of the escalating tragedy looked incredibly real, as if the audience had gone back in time almost 5 years, and were witnessing the terrible events all over again.
the film doesn’t bother to “introduce” characters or create “backstory,” except nominally. it doesn’t have to. the audience provides its own narration, having lived through that terrible day. of course, since we know the eventual tragic outcome of the flight, every tiny single thing that goes on in the plane takes on a heavy irony. passenger conversations about getting back to their families make the viewer sad. a glimpse of the intact twin towers out the window as 93 takes off is devastating. in the air traffic control center in virginia, one of the controllers mentions the clear weather near the beginning of the film, saying, “today will be a good day for the east coast.”
the film is incredibly moving (both skippy and mrs. skippy cried at different points). and, yes, it’s incredibly hard to sit through. but well worth it. the final moment of the movie showed the passengers wrestling with the hi-jackers in the cockpit of the plane while they all plummetted to the earth. then, right as the green pastures of pennsylvania slam up to them, the screen goes dark for several seconds. all that could be heard in the theatre was sniffling and sobbing.
united 93 is still doing a brisk business, which means that millions of americans are seeing this very emotional film. though it is not a decision that is casually made, we urge all of skippy’s readers to see it, too.