United 93: A Truly Historic Movie

Mayhem in the cabin in United 93.

From the unlikeliest source material and from the unlikeliest filmmakers and actors comes the best American movie so far in 2006. Perhaps it was the simple lack of a big-name director or stars or perhaps an understandable reluctance to believe that such emotionally wrenching material could yield a decent picture, but despite all odds United 93 has triumphed, and our perception of the proper way to make films about historical events may be changed forever.

In truth, Paul Greengrass might not have been considered quite so unlikely a candidate for this film by anyone who had seen Bloody Sunday (2002), about the 1972 shooting of Northern Irish protesters by British troops, which also handled a hugely traumatic event with tact and restraint and on a minimal budget with relatively unknown actors. Certainly no one would have perceived Greengrass’s talent for this kind of subject from The Bourne Supremacy (2004), a skillfully made, big-budget, cold-blooded, manipulative action film.

By now, no one needs to be told that United 93 is about the fourth plane hijacked on September 11 that ended up crashing in Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard. What should be made clear is that it’s not out to arouse anyone politically, nor does it try to ring a single false note from the actual circumstances. In other words, it’s not even vaguely exploitative, which means it could well have a difficult time finding an audience among those who might be yearning for some sort of cathartic inspiration. We all know that there were no Rambos or James Bonds aboard the flight, but in the hands of a more shameless director (God only knows what, say, a Ron Howard might have done with this material), there might have been an attempt to leave us with some artificially induced “inspiration.” Greengrass, who also wrote the script, is unsparing; those wishing to leave the theater with a good feeling will simply have to settle for as close an approximation to heroism as possible for some, but not all, of the passengers who were on the flight.

There isn’t even the comfort of familiar faces. Thank God once more that we are spared the sight of Tom Hanks or George Clooney or Julia Roberts volunteering their time for a good cause. The people aboard this plane look an awful lot like you and me. Greengrass makes startlingly effective use of real time. Once the plane is in the air, we experience what the passengers, crew, and terrorists actually experienced in the same elapsed time. We also hear pretty much what they said at the time they said it; the script makes use of the reports of officials and air traffic controllers as well as the famous cell phone calls made to family members.

It’s Greengrass’s additional writing, though, that’s the strength of United 93. The imagined dialogue is of a near-identical tone with the real conversations, so much so that the fictional portions of the script blend seamlessly with the actual, in no small part because Greengrass never stops the film to artificially heighten a dramatic moment, nor does he use close-ups to show us what we’re supposed to respond to. Moments of confusion and chaos are part of the terror, and the film leaves them precisely that way. You experience much of what happens as if watching from your own assigned seat on the plane.

The docudrama effect is heightened by the use of actual participants who were part of the Federal Aviation Administration ground crew. It’s virtually impossible to tell the amateur actors from the professionals, and this is a tribute to both. Ben Sliney, who was in charge of the FAA command center on September 11, plays himself without the slightest hint of either self-consciousness or self-importance. Among the virtual unknowns, David Alan Basche as Todd Beamer, perhaps the best known of the passengers, should be singled out for his power and clarity.

To applaud a film is not necessarily to recommend it. You know how it ends. Read the above carefully before deciding if you’re going to see United 93, because if you do, you won’t be thinking about much else for the next few days.

—Allen Barra is a contributing editor of American Heritage magazine.