The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

When we talk about 9/11, our focus tends to shift quickly to the tragedy of the two planes that struck the Twin Towers. Just under 3,000 lives were lost from what we now refer to as Ground Zero. The recently released World Trade Center took us to the ground of 9/11, depicting the many who tried to save the lives of others when disaster struck. United 93 takes us to the air, portraying in real time the actions of the brave & courageous passengers who prevented an even greater disaster from taking place many miles away from New York City. The power of film can be tremendous, and for viewers like me, reminded me of the loss of that hijacked plane that perhaps I otherwise might have forgotten.

Director Paul Greengrass, a relative newcomer to the Hollywood mainstream who gave us the superb Bourne Supremacy, gives us a "real" aura to the film by giving it a documentary feel to it. This was an excellent decision. We don't know the intricacies of the main characters of the film: we don't have the character who lost mom and dad in a car accident when they were 10 who's still mad at the world; we don't have another character recently released from prison who just found Jesus; we don't have another clichéd cardboard human being who just discovered the power of forgiveness. We see what feels like authentic people, reacting to the events in ways we would expect and perhaps not expect to. The picture does not rely on cheap, syrupy-sweet emotion to involve the audience.

The film starts with the hijackers preparing themselves for their suicide mission. As they board the plane and sit down, calculating their time to strike, we see their anxiousness and uncertainty of their actions. We will never know exactly move for move what happened, but the potrayal by Greengrass, again, seems authentic. These are not Die Hard terrorists oozing ego and machismo. These are men, regardless of the reckless disregard for the lives they want to take, that show fear & weakness but also undeniable strong faith in their mission.

A powerful moment in the film comes as the plane begins to descend, the passengers curled up on their seats, praying to God as the speed increases. At the same time, the hijackers can also be heard praying aloud. The question is asked: Are we all praying to the same One? Is there some sort of bizarre connection taking place that good & evil can share?

The final minutes of United 93 are perhaps some of the most intense and sad moments depicted on film that I can recall in recent memory. When the passengers charge the cockpit in attempts to stop the plane from crashing into the Capitol, I still had hope for them. Just briefly, you think to yourself, if they just had a few more moments, maybe they could also save not just the lives of those on the ground below them, but also themselves. You start talking yourself out of it though, because you then quickly remember the aftermath of this hijacking. But that's how powerful this film is.

As a closing thought, there are many who feel it is too early to be making films on 9/11. The families of the victims of United 93 all gave their support to Paul Greengrass to go forward with this movie and tell a story they feel needs to be told. If those families feel it is time, I don't need any other convincing. Simply put, this is a film every person must see.