Five years after the events of September 11, 2001, Academy Award winning filmmaker Paul Greengrass took the unenviable task of making a movie about a harrowing day none of us will ever forget, and the heroic actions of a group of regular people who averted further catastrophes in the face of impeding doom.
Its obvious Greengrass didn’t produce the film to win praise or profits, with portions of the earnings from the movie donated to victim families and relief efforts. He cast relatively unknown actors in key roles, and tells the story of that unforgettable day in a real time format, reminding us just how fast the chaotic events of the morning unfolded. He also includes the many mistakes made from various areas of command, thus making the piece more genuine.
For those of us who witnessed September 11, the indelible images and terror of the day can be recalled in vivid detail even now, 17 years later. When word broke that a fourth hijacked aircraft racing towards Washington DC had been crashed into a rural field when the passengers on board learned of what was going on and opted to fight back, it became a rallying cry for patriotism, freedom, and the United States of America.
In casting, Greengrass deliberately chose unknown actors, and also included real life flight attendants and military personnel who were on duty at the time. This balance, along with improved dialogue and the candid rapport of the strangers on the flight creates a realism within the story, allowing for a reality-show type of feel in which the viewer will witness as though they are watching actual footage from inside a military base or from the confines of the doomed airline.
“United 93” tells the story of people, which is what made September 11 such a unique experience. As passengers portraying the likes of Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham, and Todd Beamer board the airplane, we see regular people just being people. They have plans, and family. They aren’t concerned with anything other than what is directly in front of them. They don’t want to fight a war, and they certainly don’t want to die. The movie is so effective at conveying this facet, you actually get lost in watching and forget how it will ultimately end.
While the majority of the movie rightfully takes place on board the flight, Greengrass also infuses scenes from various locations on the ground. Real life FAA National Operations Manager, Ben Sliney, plays himself on what ironically is his first day on the job. Sliney briefs his team that morning in which he states it should be a “good day on the East Coast.”
A few minutes in and one can easily identify that Sliney is not a professional actor. But his raw emotions are able to carry his scenes and offer a taste of how things would have looked from the perspective of air traffic controllers frantically trying to figure out what is happening. One of the most powerful scenes you will find is the sorrowed and stunned looks on everyone’s face when they watch live footage of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center, simultaneously realizing that the initial hit wasn’t an accident. A-List actors couldn’t replicate those that were actually there.
While factually based, it is still a movie, and Greengrass shows just the right amount of cinematic visuals that help to bring home the point. As United Flight 93 departs Newark Airport, the pilot makes an announcement to the passengers about the crystal clear view of the Manhattan skyline on this perfect morning. Through the windows of the plane we catch a beautiful and haunting image of the twin towers standing strong and unscathed, in what would be their final minutes.
I became an adult on that day, and still recall every little detail over a 24 hours stretch of time. There was a unity in the country that is sadly gone now. We saw that true heroes aren’t actors or athletes, they were fireman and police officers that readily faced danger head on to save others. The passengers of United 93 had no idea what was going on outside the confines of their airplane, but valiantly fought back. “United 93” does a fantastic job of telling their unique story.
by – Matt DeCristo
