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MOVIE REVIEW
United 93
Written and Directed by: Paul Greengrass
The 9/11 commission report sits on my bookshelf: unread. It seems too soon to delve into the details of the attacks. Though after watching the intense film United 93, I am inclined to pick it up and take a look at it. Maybe even try to read through it.
I'm crying ten minutes into United 93 as FAA officials think that there might be a hijacked plane out of Boston. "We haven't had a hijacking in 20 years," someone says. "Trust me," a co-worker stresses. "This is a hijack."
The film focuses on the passengers' ordeal on Flight 93 and how they attempted to overtake the terrorists to gain control of the plane. As everyone knows, of the four plans hijacked on 9/11, Flight 93 is the only one that did not reach its intended target (possibly the Capitol Building or the White House).
In United 93, we relive the tragedy as the air traffic controllers, the FAA and NORAD prevent the unthinkable and inevitable from occurring. We see what it might have been like for those passengers, flight attendants and pilots on the Newark to San Francisco flight. This makes the film worthwhile to see if you can handle it.
Crying through the film and experiencing 9/11 this way is cleansing. It is devastating to watch but at the same time it is an unforgettable day, a stunning ordeal that most of us watched unfold on CNN moment-a vicious attack on the United States-that deserves this kind of brave, cathartic treatment.
This is not the Hollywood-version of a terrorist attack. It leans more toward a documentary though it is clearly a narrative feature. Flight Attendants and passengers gather in the back of the plane, make phone calls to say good-bye as well as finding out that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been hit by planes. They make a plan of attack.
Todd Beamer says "Let's Roll" anxious not to let any more time go by. These passengers are brave. I think of the numerous lost lives and of Flight 11 flight attendant Amy Sweeney from my hometown of Acton, Mass. who courageously provided her airline with seat numbers of the terrorists and a detailed account of what was happening prior to that jet pounding into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
A genuine, riveting and honest approach makes United 93 essential viewing.
By Amy Steele
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