United in grief (United 93 (DVD))

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	United 93 (DVD)
Date:	18/09/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fantastic reconstruction of events which was sensitively handled

Disadvantages: The subject matter itself

I'm sure you all remember the appalling few hours that encapsulated the hatred Al Qaeda have for America and its citizens. While the multiple tragedies unfolded that day I remember being glued to Sky News, simultaneously weeping for the lives lost and railing against the appalling American government whose strict and completely unfair foreign policies were undoubtedly the catalyst for the attacks. However, politics aside, what happened on 9/11 was truly sobering. The news coverage that day was punctuated with stutters and stammers as even our highly professional newsreaders struggled with their emotions and sought words that would perhaps comfort us.

Since that day, eight years ago, I have had an interest in the atrocities born of the fact that it was such a very frightening time even for those of us living over the pond in the UK. I think a lot of us watch and read as much as we can about 9/11 simply because we find it so very hard to comprehend the vileness of the perpetrators and the vast loss of life that occurred. However, don't you find that the majority of programmes, films and documentaries based on the events of this day are highly sensationalised? Made by movie moguls with ratings in mind, rather than telling the true story of the attacks? I do, so when I was given a copy of the United 93 DVD it sat on the shelf for months as I simply couldn't bring myself to open and watch it - I shall be honest, the thought of watching another 9/11 film left me feeling quite cold as I simply did not believe it could do justice to the terror and bravery of the passengers on the flight who sacrificed their lives to avoid the plane crashing into the White House.

There isn't a huge plotline to this film and as far I can see the makers have attempted to keep it as close to real events as possible. The first segment of the film is dedicated to showing ordinary Americans making their preparations for the flight, of course none of them are aware that anything is amiss on that particular day and in the US they have much more of an air travel culture than we do in the UK so they are setting out on trips that many of them have undertaken many times before. Obviously, as the viewer I was aware of the tragic outcome of the flight so watching these poor people go about their daily lives was extremely harrowing and filled me with dread. Interspersed with these scenes were clips showing the terrorists as they made the final adjustments to their plans, these sections were filmed in a jerky manner which immediately made the viewer aware that they were 'the bad guys' and despite knowing exactly how the film was going to end I found myself hoping that they would have a change of heart or that something would happen to prevent them boarding the plane.

Of course, as we all know they did get on the plane and wreaked the havoc which resulted in the deaths of all onboard. When the hijackers make themselves known there is a hint of disbelief on United 93, I think the film tried to show us that none of the passengers initially believed they were in the midst of a major terrorism incident although when they were told about the horrors of the twin towers panic began to set in.

I have nothing but admiration for the Americans on board this flight. The film shows their survival instincts coming to the fore as they firstly thought there was a chance they may walk away from this cowardly, horrific attack and then as the realisation sunk in that this hijacking was part of a far bigger plan and it was unlikely any of them would survive.

The actors and actresses in United 93 were superb. I should imagine it was an extremely emotive film for them to be involved in and I silently thanked the casting agents for giving the roles to 'unknowns' as if there had been even one big name involved then I believe the film would have lost all credibility. As it was watching these people was a revelation as to how the real people on board the flight would have acted, albeit there would undoubtedly have been more panic in the real life situation and I doubt very much whether every passenger would have behaved in such a calm manner as they did in the film. Having said this, towards the end when the passengers in the film all realised they were going to die a series of telephone calls were made to their loved ones. I found this small segment to be extremely poignant and think that, for me at least, it really brought home the fact that they were real people with real feelings involved in this extraordinarily sad situation.

I also liked the fact that the camera would sometimes skip to what was happening in the control room, where the events of that appalling day were unfolding at breakneck speed. I believe many of the people in the control room were the real flight controllers and engineers who were involved in the actual United 93 hijacking. This must have been appalling and invigorating for these people in equal measure because despite the fact there was nothing they could have done to help the passengers, they must have been filled with remorse and anger at this event happening on 'their watch'.

The camera work on United 93 was perfect for such a very emotional and dramatic film. Filmed in real time it was very choppy, focussing upon the terrified reactions of the passengers on the flight which in my opinion was the right way to go as I've seen too many dramas which have inadvertently glorified terrorism through allowing the viewer to bond far too well with the terrorists. In this film you see glimpses of the hijackers but never for one moment are you allowed to feel any empathy or strength of feeling towards these vile men who hold human life in such disregard.

Watching United 93 put me in mind of a snuff movie; although these obviously weren't the real people who died on that sunny day in Pennsylvania, it felt like a very voyeuristic 111 minutes as in essence you're watching the final moments of real people even though they were being portrayed by actors. The end sequence where the passengers attempt to take back control of the flight left me feeling numb and caused goosebumps to break out all over my body, the emotions I felt as I watched the events unfolding were varied but mainly I felt shock and absolute devastating horror. I'd be lying if I said I immediately heralded the bravery of the passengers as this emotion came later on as I sat stunned after the final credits had ended.

United 93 (the film) has come in for some criticism since it's release. From various quarters I've heard that the actors weren't right for the roles, there were breaks in continuity and even glaring errors about what life is like in the control room whilst such a massive event is taking place. If I could get a hold of one of these critics I'd like to shake them for surely they realise this film wasn't made to titillate or create a realistic film of life on an aircraft but, in essence, as a tribute to the amazingly brave passengers on the flight whose selfless sacrifice surely saved many other lives on the ground.

There are just three bonus features on the disc, all of which are moving and emotional to the point that I have merely glanced through them and not watched in any great detail. The first is sixty minute feature entitled The Families and the Film, this is very hard to watch as it's basically the relatives of those killed on United 93 giving their account of the day and how they reacted upon the news of the death of their loved ones. They also discuss why they wanted to support the making of United 93 and tell the viewer how important it was to them to see their relatives' achievements marked in this way.

The second bonus feature is a commentary from Paul Greengrass, the director of the film, and the third and final feature is a series of written biographies in which the passengers and crew of the flight are remembered by the people who knew them best.

So not many bonus features, but then it would be in extremely bad taste had any features been included which weren't directly related to the tragedies so I honestly think they were chosen very wisely.

Summary: An extremely moving film based on the events on United 93.