United 93

I remember 9-11 very well. I left my apartment in the morning to take an organic chemistry exam, and came back to see the entire drama of the attacks unfold. From the very moment I saw the first reports of "some sort of smoke emanating from the World Trade Towers," I had the surreal feeling of knowing that something decidedly world-changing was being broadcast to me in multimedia. Five years later, having moved to the Tri-state area, I found myself watching what I presume to be the first of many September 11th-themed movies, in the presence of people for whom these events weren't just "reported," but seen from the kitchen window.

"United 93" was not so much a film as it was a documentary. There are no particular characters to speak of. It can best be described as a series of theoretical cameras placed in various "sets" from that day. Until the last third of the movie, the scenes from the various air traffic control and military offices tended to be a bit confusing and detail-oriented. The last third of the movie is focused on how the passengers of United Flight 93 fought back and attempt to take the plane back. The Muslim hijackers (ie terrorists) were neither portrayed as fundamentally evil nor especially heroic. Nor was the audience emotionally attached to any of the passengers who staged the last desperate rush to the cockpit. Perhaps the producers of the movie wanted to show an "unbiased" and "balanced" movie sensitive to a diverse range of audiences (Because we're sure that's how Al-Jazeera works). Otherwise, perhaps the movie's producers thought that by simply recreating the events of that day, the audience would be sufficiently engaged in the drama. Judging by the penetrating silence of the New Jersey theater I viewed the movie in by the movie's sudden ending, at least that much was accomplished.

Coming soon, probably a whole batch of 9-11 movies, including Oliver Stone's take on the terrorist attacks (wild conspiracy theory?????).