United they stood (United 93 (DVD))

Member Name: missixty

Product:	United 93 (DVD)
Date:	10/04/08 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: True events

Disadvantages: Difficult to watch

This film is based on the true events of 9/11 that shook the world. Four planes were hijacked that day, three of which hit their target; this film follows the story of the fourth plane.

The film has many characters, yet no main characters or lead roles. It is the story of forty ordinary strangers who came together to try to fight against the four terrorists taking over their plane. The film doesn't just focus in on one or two of these passengers, but shows the story of them all as a whole. All the actors used were relative unknowns, which I felt worked better for this sort of film than if there was someone instantly recognisable in there. The unknowns gave it a more realistic feel. Whilst there was a lot of characters in the film this obviously means not as much character development can be done in the time scale than when focussing on just a few main roles. Due to the film being based on real events, there was just enough character development, as you couldn't help but care for these characters anyway, knowing this really happened. Had it been a completely fictional story then the lack of character development may have made me not care too much for the characters, but this wasn't the case here. Despite not being you're well known actors, all the cast put in outstanding performances on such an emotive film.

First up I'm going to hold up my hands in complete ignorance and admit; I knew nothing about this fourth plane before watching the film. I didn't in fact even remember the third plane until it was mentioned in the film. I know that sounds shockingly bad of me, but I was only 16 when it happened, and a little wrapped up in my own world and whilst of course I clearly remembered the Twin Towers, I don't think I had heard much if anything about the other two planes.

For me at least going into the film, this added a different aspect to most, in that I DIDN'T know what was going to happen.

That said, for most people, everyone already knows the story, and of course the outcome and the ending, and if this is the case you may think that the movie won't have you on the edge of your seat, as you already know from the outset how it's all going to end up.

What I would say is that when I watched this for the second time, and obviously knew what had happened by this point (not only from watching the film before, but also doing some research on the matter) that I was just as gripped and on the edge of my seat as the first time I watched it and despite knowing how it was going to end I was willing things to happen.

So for me I spent the first part of the movie wondering what on earth was going on, as I had expected this to be a film about one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers. After both planes had crashed I was left feeling confused. Then the third plane crashed and I was even more confused. Putting the confusion aside, I watched the story of the fourth plane and put aside any questions I had for later.

The film was utterly gripping and tense throughout and this remained the same even when watching it the second time. The fact that it is a true story of course affects you more, and it was very emotional to watch. There were grown men crying in the cinema where I first saw this. It was quite difficult and disturbing to watch but utterly compelling at the same time.

It is definitely one of the tensest films I have ever watched and it's one of those where you almost hold your breath the whole way through. Whether you know how it ends or not you are willing things to happen, on multiple watching even though you've seen it before you are willing parts of the movie to change. It's the sort of film where you feel like almost screaming at the screen in a "no don't run up the stairs!" sort of way, although obviously there are no stairs here, but you get my point, you want to save the character from their fate and will them to make the right choice that could save themselves.

This film is definitely not light entertainment; in fact it is hard to call a film dealing with such a horrendous matter entertainment at all. That said it is gripping throughout and I think as well as the empathy everyone feels for those affected by 9/11, there is also our own personal fears of something like this happening to us that heightens this experience, in a "what would I do if happened to me" way.

It is a very emotional film, and one that will stay with you a long time after watching. I feel that this is mainly because of the true subject matter, and as a fictional film I'm not sure if this would have affected me all that much, or even if I would have rated it. That said it's impossible to disentangle this from the true events and assess it just as a film, which is essentially what makes this film a success. It does kind of cash in on peoples emotions and use an event like this to make a film that's sure to be a success, as its impossible not to be affected by this film due to the subject nature.

That said the film did seem to be done quite well, it built the tension well, and dealt with the matter as accurately as I could imagine it having been. It did feel very real, which only added to the experience.

Summary: Everyone's worst fear