united 93 [4 outta 4]

united 93 is a rare film, one that needs no explanation or introduction. we know how it starts. we know how it ends. we’ve know, more or less, the broad facts of the plot.

what i didn’t expect, or really just comprehend, was my inability to disconnect. the film plays out like any airborne thriller, yet there is always the subtle reminder that this really happened. i flew less than two weeks ago and the first half of the film was chilling to watch simply because it was so normal. sitting in the terminal. talking on the phone. moving in and around the plane.

the other unexpected side of this film was how innately cinematic it was. yet, by a current blockbuster’s standards, it felt – for a moment or two – lacking in fantastic action. yet the simplicity and matter-of-fact, non-sensationalized approach to the storytelling is what made it so powerful. there were no unnecessary, tear drenched closeups or “what will they do next” underscoring. it presented the sequence of events very directly.

i had the gut feeling a number of times to get up and stop the dvd, when it got hard to watch. the only other film i’ve ever watched that caused me to feel this way was schindler’s list back when i was 14. regardless, i believe that this film needed to be made because it does put a face on the events of 9/11 that no documentary or replay of the twin towers video footage can replicate.