United 93 - 4/06

By: Clayton Davis
Honorable, heart-breaking, proud, frustrating, angry, endearing, brave, unbelievable, morose, and about a million other verbs, adverbs, or whatever other superlatives you can think of will cross the mind upon the experience called United 93. This film opens up old wounds and creates new ones. How could this possibly happen? Why didn’t people move faster? Where in God’s name was Bush? Why them? Why us? You are put on the doomed plane with forty extraordinary ladies and gentleman. You are so proud when this film is over and not to be an American but to be a part of the human race. At mankind’s peek of expiration the spirit becomes alive and is evident in actions and words.

I try not to look at this subjectively. Living so close to New York City and witnessing the attacks happen right in front of your eyes does make this experience that much harder. I will agree with a lot of people and say this might have been too soon to start giving the different perspectives on the attacks but it’s been made and we have to deal with it. This is a film that you really don’t want to see that you should see. Paul Greengrass took a huge risk on making this film and he does the passengers, the families, and the rest of mankind justice. The most hurtful thing of this process wasn’t the actual things in the film taking place but the mystery that is left afterwards. We will never know in this world and lifetime what happened on that plane, we will never know what it felt like to be on that plane or to be the loved one of a person being called by someone on that plane, but we do know that if you are reading this review right now than you are alive and that is a blessing in its own.

There are no performances that stick out unless you give it to all the passengers as an ensemble. (hint: Screen Actors Guild) I’m not sure if this could make it to the ceremony. I on one hand loved the film for its brutal honesty and hate it because it’s a constant reminder of evil. I will probably never see this film again, I’ll own it on DVD just because I’m a freak like that but living through that day over and over again is just something I don’t want to do.

Possible nominations for Picture, Director, Screenplay, and the technical categories. If our Academy is touched as I am by this film they will want to reward it with at least a nomination otherwise it will play as another Passion of the Christ. Touches the hearts of people yet will stir up the controversy.

Your eyes will dry out, you’ll feel the sense of redemption, you’ll pray to everything higher than you that Paul Greengrass will make a different ending even though we all know how it ends. You want these people to live, you want peace, you want happiness, you want the love of the father to come down and prevent the tragedy from occurring but that doesn’t happen. What we are left with is a tortured heart and pain stricken soul that will always wonder why the beauty of mankind is shown in the unknown? A round of applause to the cast, crew, Mr. Greengrass, and to the individuals involved in the attacks for showing us that in the darkest hour of man, the brightest light can be shown and love can always breakthrough.

Grade: ****/****