When we know the end
UNITED 93 Cert. 15 Director Paul Greengrass
It is an unusual experience to be sitting in a cinema knowing the outcome of the film you are about to see, especially as there is no happy ending here. As the lights went down my heart beat faster as I prepared for the real life disaster story to unfold.
United 93 is the first movie about the events of 9/11. Although the focus is the 44 people who board the United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco, four of whom are hijackers, the film cleverly sets the horror and bravery of this particular flight in the context of the whole day of terror. As two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre and another into the Pentagon, the citizens on board United Airways Flight 93 had to decide whether to sit tight or try to take back the plane. Writer/director Paul Greengrass sifts through the facts and theories from the 9/11 Commission to present what he thinks happened next in United 93.
Unexpected
Since 9/11 and other atrocities like 7/7, we have become accustomed to the idea of living in a world under the constant threat of terrorism. However, watching United 93 reminds you that no one really expected terrorists to turn into kamikaze pilots in passenger planes and fly into buildings. Greengrass underlines the unexpected nature of this attack as he cuts between the air and the ground, as the military and air traffic controllers are totally powerless to do anything about the unfolding crisis.
