Film Reviews

United 93

• Rating:
• Director: Paul Greengrass.
• Starring: Kahlid Abdalla, Christian Clemenson, Omar Berdouni, Ray Charleson.
• Details: US, 111mins, 15.

The harrowing tale of the hijacking of Untied Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, is brought to the screen with unprecedented realism by writer and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Bloody Sunday).Four planes that day were hijacked by terrorists but one, Fight 93, never reached its target because of the heroism of the passengers on board; attacking the hijackers and almost regaining control of the plane before it plummeted into the ground. The half-hour delay on the runway before take-off enabled the passengers and crew to receive news of the World Trade Centre and Pentagon disasters. When they called their loved ones, and realised what their fate was to be, they took the fight to the terrorists. There are many elements that make United 93 a special film but Greengrass's reluctance to shower his film in flag-waving propaganda has to be the stand out and even the now-famed 'let's roll' battle cry is delivered in false bravado and panic. Greengrass even dispensed with the obvious multi-narrative plot or the usual lengthy build up of back stories so often used in disaster movies; cutting to the chase almost immediately. Constantly switching from the Air Traffic Centre to a military base to the commotion on the plane, Greengrass builds an atmosphere of confusion, fear and terror, his hand-held camera, snap-snap-snap editing and NYPD Blue style direction, together with the lack of star names in the cast adding to the realism. One of the leanest films released in years, United 93 carries no fat around its waist and Greengrass couldn't have told this story any better than he did.

Review by Gavin Burke