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For senior skip day, which is frowned upon by school staff, I decided to do something that was school appropriate, yet still something I have always wanted to do. I skipped school to go see a movie. �United 93� was a movie I wanted to see, and this opportunity for extra credit was just the motivation I needed to get out and see it.
The film started out by introducing a few real-life characters that the audience would know as terrorists. It showed them in a hotel early in the morning of September 11th, 2001. They were praying to their God and getting cleaned up in a hotel bathroom before heading out to the airport. The film starts out with some beautifully filmed footage of New York in the dark, even though it was morning. Then, once people had gotten into the dramatic atmosphere of the movie, we were shown inside the airport and met, through brief seconds of little dialogue, the passengers of Flight 93. We even were introduced to the pilots who admired the weather they were given on what they felt would be a glorious day.
When I was watching the film, I was reminded of the recent Oscar-nominated film �Good Night, and Good Luck.� Both films have a similar dramatic feel to them, created by their silence and their cinematography. For the first film about the tragedy known as 9/11, director Paul Greengrass doesn�t depend on using any form of tripods for his cameras. By doing this, the cameramen�s natural movements behind the camera create a documentary-style feel for the film. While that alone gives the film a realistic feel, people who are mature enough to see a film like �United 93� can recall the event, and that alone gives people the realism that they need. Director Paul Greengrass also chose to cast no-names as the terrorists and the passengers of Flight 93, and even cast real air-traffic controllers. These people were there that day, September 11th, in the year 2001. Acting isn�t required to create realism.
While the movie is based on the events of what happened on the United Airlines Flight 93, the events leading up to what happened on that plane are just as important. When United 93 had only driven away from the terminal, air-traffic controllers were given the idea that other planes had been hijacked. There was a half-hour delay before they were allowed to leave the airport. The movie doesn�t waste any time, though. It takes you through the course of the morning, showing you different airports and how they all learned of the hijackings. But United 93 was off before anyone knew about any terrorists. Then, right off of the radar, a plane disappeared.
Minutes later, footage of one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center was brought onto a big screen in front of the room. Silence fell as all of the people watched footage of a smoking building while a news anchor spoke of claims of a plane hitting the building. Meanwhile, on the United 93 flight, the terrorists waited for the right moment to do something. What the something was, everyone in any audience who would watch �United 93,� would know about. This was part of the feel of the movie. The tension every audience member felt was about what they knew would happen.
The most captivating shot of the film would happen in a few more minutes. Back on the ground, people were trying to find out where a certain plane disappeared to, and what was making one half of the World Trade Center smoke. Then everyone watched another plane fly into New York. In an air-traffic tower, a few people watched the plane fly. One commented on how fast in was traveling at. This was the most realistic shot of the entire movie because, as an audience member, I watched the plane fly into New York. Then the shot cut to news footage, which showed the plane fly into the World Trade Center. And a second later, an explosion came out the other side. The people working at the airport, who were watching this footage, were completely traumatized upon viewing this. I, myself, was surprised to see this footage. The film didn�t depend on actual news footage, but this one shot is still shocking to see. And the realism of the film is upped. The tension also rises as the film takes us back onto United 93. We watch one man leave his seat. As we are afraid of what he is about to do, we watch him walk to the bathroom on board. There, he takes out a couple sticks of clay and a role of tape and finally tapes them all together and sticks some wires in them. Then he puts the device that clearly is supposed to be a bomb in his jacket and zips up. He walks back to his seat. The terrorists look at each other. It is time. The audience knows it is time. The terrorists rise from their seats, one of which ties a red bandana around his head, and take over the plane. Able to get knives on board, the terrorists start screaming at other passengers and the stewardesses to scare them. Wasting no time taking over the plane, they act fast, and to put the terror in terrorist, they stab one passenger in the neck. Nobody is brave enough to stand up to them now. The passengers are all sent to the back of the plane. After regaining control of the aircraft, after throwing everybody off balance, the terrorists turn the plane towards a new destination. This movie doesn�t try to put its own theories into any of the story. �JFK,� directed by Oliver Stone, fictionalizes the event, and plays on the idea of who killed John F. Kennedy. �The Da Vinci Code,� directed by Ron Howard, plays off the ideas in the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. It tells how the picture of Da Vinci�s �The Last Supper� includes Mary Magdalene, and may be proof of her being Jesus� wife. While Christians know that Jesus never had a wife, many cannot comprehend the creativity of �The Da Vinci Code,� written by Dan Brown. �United 93� takes no chances, creating no theories, but just includes the events of the day. It didn�t need to create anything, though, since the event itself was enough for anybody going to see the movie.
The passengers sit in the back of the plane and use the plane�s telephones. They call their loved ones. They call the police. They call anyone they can think of who they would need to call. But when you�re miles above the earth, nobody can save you. On the day of September 11th, in the year 2001, four planes were hijacked by terrorists. Two planes disappeared from radars into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, and another hit the pentagon. Three planes reached their target. This is the story of the fourth. Grade: A-. It wasn't the most fun movie of the year. The ending was abrupt and, therefore, didn't allow to to leave the theater happy. Of course, going into this movie you already know the ending. I would have done a montage of real footage from 9/11 or something. "World Trade Center," a movie directed by Oliver Stone ("JFK") will come out later this year. It reportedly doesn't show any planes hitting any buildings, but it does feature Nicolas Cage. The film, "United 93," doesn�t glamorize being a hero or being a villain. The badguys of this story aren�t the works of Hollywood. There isn't any emotional score of music, although the music to the film serves it very well. And these characters aren't given some monologue or inspirational speech about what they have to do. They gather the biggest men they can who are on board, and they go to the back of the plane. There, they gather any type of weapon they can find. Many passengers sit in fear of what could happen, but in a valiant effort, the passengers of United 93 did what they could. They stopped the plane from harming any other people.
Quote of the Day:
"Relaxation comes after movies." - Me.
By the way, the "Quote of the Day" thing on my sidebar is a new feature here at ChrisLand. So, if not to check out my entries, be sure to stop by and see the randomly-generated "quote of the day." Thank you.
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