Dealing with 9/11 Films

As we wait for Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center” (WTC, starring Nicholas Cage) to hit the local theaters, I am reminded of another 9/11 movie that was shown about 2 months ago.

“United 93,” helmed by British director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Bloody Sunday) is a chilling account of what transpired during its fateful flight. The San Francisco-bound Boeing 757 plane (Flight 93), through the courageous act of its crew and passengers, was the only (out of four) flight that was able to thwart its captors’ grim intent of turning planes into hurtling missiles.

The film, which features little-known actors and real-life figures (who are playing themselves in the movie) as well as airline and military personnel, was shown to the public with little bombastic fanfare that usually accompany big-budget Hollywood movies — perhaps a more fitting and more respectful tribute to the plucky crew and passengers of U93, who were unwittingly thrust into the ghastly business of grappling with terrorists while everybody else was still struggling to understand the magnitude of that day’s horrifying events.

My friends and I had planned to watch a different movie (at the time I had no firm idea about U93’s play date) but when I saw U93 was on, I knew this was one movie I needed to watch.

With all that’s going on these days (e.g., the failed terror plot in UK, unfinished business in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, etc.), U93 — which runs like a documentary — hardly offers its viewers an opportunity for closure. But like everybody else, I was curious to see what directors would do to cover the grim events of that day. Greengrass’ spare, no-nonsense approach offers no sugarcoating nor does it attempt to milk blatantly sentimental, cinematic or righteous mileage out of the movie’s grim subject. The cast was effective and the story inescapably gripping.

Another notable point was the way both sides were presented: the desperate passengers and the frantic hijackers locked in a deadly battle to wrench control of the plane — and with that the chance to survive or to die for a reprehensible cause. Shots of terrified crew and passengers (praying, saying their goodbyes, crying, hatching plans to fight back) are interlaced with glimpses of anxious hijackers uttering fervent invocations as they struggle to bring their plans into fruition.

It’s also interesting to note that, based on RottenTomatoes’ tomatometer, U93 scored well among film critics (90%), with a few declaring U93 as one of the best features they seen so far this year (2006). Although some critics haven’t checked in yet, WTC’s rating is pegged at 72%.