Review: United 93

On Wednesday i watched the first of two new feature films on the events surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The film was Paul Greengrass' United 93, on the fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

+ Anyone who can shoot a (Hollywood) film of this quality with a mere $30m budget should be given an award (just for budgeting) in today's 9-digit-hungry industry. Honestly, they've made a $100m-dollar-looking production for a third of the price, combining slick sets ('national command centers' and 'FAA control centers' full of gadgets and screens reminiscent of 1980s War Games) with many external and on-flight shots. Well done to location managers, exec and assoc producers, production managers and designers et al. The late Ismail Merchant would have been proud of you guys.

+ Paul Greengrass is not any director. He is the director of The Bourne Supremacy, the ultimate post-Bond spy thriller. He is also the director of Bloody Sunday, a seminal film on the Northern Irish troubles. I'm pleased to say that in United 93 Greengrass manages to combine the former's breath-holding suspense with the latter's acid yet non-existent, subtle yet invisible political commentary. Sometimes just showing what happened in documentary style is more shocking than dressing the story up with all sorts of dramatic frocks. Greengrass' comment on the state of the country's response capability (esp. in terms of inter-agency communication) is crystal clear and reminds me of Richard A. Clarke's "Against All Enemies".

+ The lack of any identifiable actors - really important not just for the purposes of disbelief suspension, but also as a deliberate strategic choice of the film-makers (is it for respect to the victims? is it for budgeting purposes? is it for narrative purposes? it doesn't matter - it works!).

+ The film's visual feel and aesthetic approach (especially the logos and posters, which pay an homage to 1970s disaster movies); the title with its double meaning (United as in the flight; united as in all passengers united against the hijackers); the production notes, most of which is dedicated describing the bios of United 93's (real) crew and passengers, as opposed to the usual spin by the studio. I think that alone is testament to Greengrass' intentions to make a film about real heroes, i.e. everyday people.

+ Yet, it's the raw, sterile, surgical, simple, blank, empty, silent transcription of what happened on the day (from the moment the hijackers woke up - first shot - to the very final one) that steals the show. It all feels like one of the BBC's awesome docudramas, or like Gus Van Sant's Elephant (without the repetitive multiple points of view, although these are implied) in that the film-makers simply present what happened on a sunny morning without any explicit value judgements or ethical lectures. Yes the first half feels mundane, but that's absolutely vital in setting the scene and building up for the second half. Also, if you were born on this planet before say 1985, you will probably get goosebumps throughout the film as the events of that day have affected more or less everyone alive (to different extents and for different reasons).

+ Music by John Powell. One of the best soundtracks of the year (and I'm using the literal sense of the word - sound track as in the sound that surrounds the film, not necessarily the final CD in itself, although that would be very interesting to listen to and see if it stands on its own).

- Not sure about the opening (prayer) shots. Factually accurate but quite dangerous too, i.e. it can subtly affect people's perceptions of Islam and Muslims and can be used against the (big) majority of peace-loving law-abiding citizens.

- A few continuity errors with the plane going up and down on the same scene (when it was supposed to only go down).

Overall, then, United 93 is a must-see not least as a tribute to those who gave their lives to save others, irrespective of where you stand on the 'war on terror' and the Bush / empire agenda; as well as a lesson on what humans can achieve if they are united and (note to self) calm during times of crisis. And on top of that United 93 is just a good film.