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Review

Director Greengrass made the shattering Bloody Sunday, about a terrible tragedy in recent Irish history. He applies the same documentary style to United 93, which details the events surrounding the hijacking of the only plane on 9/11 not to reach its target (presumed to be the US Capitol building). The film is wall-to-wall intensity; the dread is palpable from the very beginning — two pilots discussing their families, a shot lingering just a little too long on the sealing of the plane door before take-off (it has the effect of a coffin lid slamming shut), a subtle-yet-chilling glimpse of the Towers disappearing out of view through the plane's window over a hijacker's shoulder. The film is astonishing for achieving the near-impossible: it's respectful and even celebratory of the passengers, yet is never jingoistic, and never stoops to Steven Seagal, "kill-the-bad-guys" revenge fantasy. Surprisingly, more than half the running time is spent on the ground, following the military and FAA employees' actions; this is fascinating stuff, as we witness the incredulous but thorough initial reactions to the possibility that a US flight has been hijacked (the first in almost twenty years), to the confusion, fear, anger and indecision that followed. There's little overt political content (though there's a pointed running "gag" about being unable to locate both the President AND the VP), and the hijackers, while not demonized, aren't exactly humanized, either (that's a movie that perhaps should be made, but it's not this movie, and that's fine). But anyone who leaves this film unshaken should check to see if they still have a soul. The screening this critic attended was packed, and the only sounds coming from the audience the entire time were gasps and sobs. United 93 is that rare motion picture that feels less like a movie than an experience.

 -- Dean C. Galanis