93
For those who don't know "United 93" is a docudrama surrounding the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on 11th September 2001 when it was hijacked by terrorists who planned to crash it as part of the bigger terrorist activity on that day. But the passengers on discovery of the other terrorist activity going on that day try to take back control of the plane. It is worth noting now that "United 93" is not the only movie to deal with United Airlines Flight 93 and what happened on that day as there is also "Flight 93".
Now I said that "United 92" was a docudrama as whilst it was made for the big screen and directed by Paul Greengrass it shuns pretty much everything you expect from a Hollywood movie. As such the jingoism is almost non existent, the actors whilst now may be familiar in some cases were unknown when this was made and Greengrass favours handheld cameras and a style which makes us feel like observers standing in a room rather than a person sitting in the audience.
What "United 93" also attempts to do is stay true to the facts! Now I say facts because what happened aboard United Airlines Flight 93 is down to speculation as whilst there were calls with loved ones and so forth all the passengers sadly died. There are also some theories which suggest the plane was shot out of the sky. All of which I mention because if you are like me will watch with an element of how do they know and at times it almost feels like the bravery of the passengers aboard Flight 93 has been turned into a beacon of hope for America and in turn this movie which details their bravery is also a beacon. Please do not get me wrong as what happened that day back in 2001 is horrific but when it comes to Flight 93 I do feel that the truth of what happened will never be fully known and as such movies such "United 93" must be watched with this in mind.
Anyway back to "United 93" well due to its docudrama styling, unrecognizable cast and fly on the wall, shaky camera work it isn't going to be for everyone as it isn't mainstream entertainment. But what it is is a respectful drama of those events and what might have happened aboard the plane and in the control towers as events unfolded. Of course this is one of those movies where you know the outcome before it starts and that weighs heavy on you as we are well aware of what will happen to the people we meet as passengers.
What this all boils down to is that "United 93" is an interesting docudrama which firstly is very respectful to what happened and what is reported to have happened. But it is not a movie for those seeking to be entertained and for those who doubt the official story of events will find some of it questionable.
