Fin Fang Foom Sees United 93

[FinFangFoom]

“United 93” is not a popcorn movie. As I sat munching my popcorn, eating my Raisinettes and sucking on my Coke during the trailers, it struck me that although this is a movie and movies are meant to be entertaining, what I was going to witness could not, and should not, be classified as “entertainment”. As the film began, I put the food away at my feet and didn’t think of it again until it was time to leave the theatre.

 

Rather than getting into all the political hoo-ha that accompanies the “when, where and why” issues, let’s talk about it as a movie.

 

Is it a “great” movie? Yeah, but not in the flashy ways that often accompany “great” films. There aren’t stunning wide shots or dazzling handicam scenes that go one for five minutes. It’s shot in HD, and transferred to film. It has a gritty look to it that is often associated with documentaries. Most of the shots are hand-held but without that bouncy effect that makes me want to pop a Dramamine. Although is has that documentary, it doesn’t have the feel of one because in documentaries you know the people are very aware that there’s a camera present. This is more like real life and somehow you’re in the middle of it. The beginning of the movie perfectly captures the real-life banality of waiting to get on a plane and the tone Paul Greengrass establishes there is masterfully carried throughout the entire movie.

 

Much has been made of the fact that many of the people on the ground play themselves in the movie and I dare you to pick out the actors from the real people. You can’t tell. Also, the movie has been stocked with non-recognizable actors and actresses (I hate it when women refer to themselves as “actors”) with two exceptions – one subtle and the other bizarre. David Rasche (Meryl Streep’s husband in “Prime” and also played the librarian who gives Meryl so much shit she passes out in “Sophie’s Choice”) has a tiny role as a passenger, so tiny that I don’t understand why they cast him. That’s the subtle one. The bizarre one is Denny Dillon! I’m sitting there watching people board the plane and I see her and think: “Is that Denny Fucking Dillon?” What the hell is SHE doing in this movie! Granted, she has no career I currently know of but I wouldn’t call her an “unknown”. Seeing her was a little jarring but thankfully you see her maybe three times in the entire film.

 

The performances are all top-notch and at no point does anyone have an “acting” moment. When they realize that they’re on a death ship, no one starts playing to the balcony. Even when frantic, terrified, or confused they’re “real”. Kuddos must be given to Greengrass because he’s shown he knows not only how to technically direct a movie but he also know how to actually DIRECT actors.

 

An amazing tightrope has been walked with the script. At no time does it become a polemic and goodness knows 9/11 is ripe with opportunities for that. In fact, due to the seemingly limitless horrors of that day, one could actually forgive the movie if there were a few moments like that.

 

The film is obviously based on the real events of the day, however, since there are no transcripts of what was said amongst the passengers, dramatic license has been taken. Dialog is sparse between the passengers and what is said was unquestionably said in one form or another by someone so I have no quibbles there. However, there’s one character that stuck out for me that I knew nothing about. There is a male passenger who advocates passivity and that they should find out what the hijackers want, surely they can be reasoned with, blah blah blah. Yeah right, the savages have just slaughtered four people so what we really need to do at this point is start a DIALOG with them (while they’re screaming in Arabic and one of them has his thumb on a detonator, thank you very much). Did I mention that the guy was European? I didn’t? Oh, well, he was European. There is also a moment, and I could be wrong about this because there was so much going on at once at this point in the film, where it appears that this guy wants to warn the savages that the passengers want to take over the plane and when he goes rushing up, the others get him and throw him into the seats. Has anybody heard anything about this guy?

 

The hijackers are played coolly at the start and then eventually two of them REALLY show themselves to be the savages they really were. The guy with the bomb strikes me as being the patsy of the group and the pilot is played with the right amount of conflict – he’s the guy who was going to get married and leaves the message for his fiancé. At no time did I “feel” for him though. It was what it was and what it was was an abomination.

 

The first hour of the movie follows the events of 9/11 before United 93 even takes off the ground. We see it through the eyes of the various control rooms and witness what they did that morning. It’s harrowing in the extreme. Once again, the performances are all spot on without anyone putting their hand to their mouth to stifle a gasp or drop their forehead to the table in shock. They behave exactly as most of us did that morning – with our mouths slack and our faces blank. What occurred that morning was more than any of us could process and we see that in the faces of the people on the ground.

 

Obviously the remainder of the movie is what happened on the plane and the dread that accompanies the build-up is almost unbearable. When the savages finally make their movie you want to turn away but you can’t. Once again, the director walks the tightrope and gets to the other side without falling. Although we know that throats were slit, there are no close-ups of the knife running across the throats or any gratuitous violence. In fact, there’s less blood in the film than there probably was on the real plane. One of my favorite moments is how the screenwriter chose to inform the stewardesses that the pilots were dead. It’s very subtle but genius. For me, that was one of movie’s two “brilliant filmmaking moments”.

 

When the passengers realize that they’re aboard a suicide mission the movie’s emotional impact spins to such a level that it’s the equivalent of the sound of a jet engine revving up to full power. Several minutes into it I realized that I was sitting there with both my hands up over my nose and mouth. The final minutes of the movie pack such an emotional wallop that you can’t even cry although that’s what you feel you should be doing.

 

The storming of the cabin is breathtaking and wrenching. It’s not a “rah-rah” moment or one that makes the audience want to cheer the screen. It merely makes you grab the armrests and hold on – hard.

I wondered how Greengrass would choose to end the movie. Do we see the plane come falling out of the sky or what? I won’t spoil that for you because that’s the other brilliant moment of the movie. It was the perfect choice. Instead of going for the cheap horror shot of showing the inside of the cabin flipping over and everyone falling to the ceiling a la “The Poseidon Adventure” he goes another route. Don’t let me mislead you, for a moment you do see that, sorta, but it’s fleeting. That was the shot I was most dreading because I’ve often thought about how unimaginable that must have been for the passengers to be going to their death, nose first and upside down. For those of you who don’t know or have forgotten, the plane crashed belly up at a 45 degree angle. It was because of that that basically no wreckage was found – the plane simply accordionned (sp?) into the ground.

 

The movie ends.

 

There was no nose blowing in the showing I went to. Simply silence. As people quietly got up to leave, rather than sit through the credits, I saw something I’ve never seen before in a movie theatre. The people were literally moving in slow motion. Rather than swinging your jacket around putting your arm through, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was moving sloooooooooowly. They rose from their seats slowly, they put their coats on slowly, they moved down the aisles slowly, they left the theatre slowly. It was eerie.

 

I wouldn’t be FFF if I didn’t have a couple of criticisms (or at least that’s what many of you nasty cunts think) so here they are…

 

Although 9/11 was a cloudless day, the light coming into the cabin of the plane was wrong. The cabin was evenly bright. We all know that the lights that are on full when you leave a plane are meager at best. This plane however was BRIGHT. If they had used the real kind of light on a plane, it would have been even more realistic and I think even creepier – as though that were possible. The other problem I had was that at the end - there was info put on the screen about what happened afterwards. The last moment of the movie is so devastating that it detracts from the impact we should have been left with. Had it been me, I would have let the screen go black as it did and leave it that way for at least 20 seconds before rolling the credits – let it all sink in before moving on. But that’s nit picking.

 

Listen, the movie will wipe you out. Period.

 

Is it “too soon”? No. In fact, it’s exactly the right time.

 

Go see it. You should.

 

Cinematically yours,

 

FFF

[OneFinger]

FFF,

 

Thanks for the in-depth review. We were going to see the movie today and then had a conflict arise. Plan to see it next week and I'm much more comfortable seeing it after reading your comments.

 

I've been skeptical about the movie and the timing of the release. Not sure there is ever going to be a "right" time that will satisfy everyone.

 

At least I'll be going knowing that I'll probably feel wiped out the rest of the day.

 

Really appreciate your timely post.

[+ deej]

Bravo.

[Boston Guy]

Nice review. Nicely done. Thanks.

 

BG

[LurkerSpeaks]

I saw the movie today and can definitely mirror most of what was stated earlier. This movie is very moving, very dramatic (in a real sorta way) and very touching. Here in Phoenix, it was exactly like mentioned after the movie. Everyone very quietly, very slowly got up and exited the theater. I even commented to my companion how quiet it was in the theater. It makes that horrific day seem much less distant than 5 years...

[RockHard]

What a pleasure to read such good writing! And so detailed, honest and dramatic yet, somehow, unpretentious. Refreshing. Sure beats Tom Isern's self-absorbed, mensa-wannabe BS.

 

Lighting is everything, isn't it? And when you know exactly what it's supposed to look like, it's a whole other thing trying to re-create it and sustain it for a film project. Ah, the joys of making movies.

 

I think Fin's ending idea sounds good but I'll bet the discussion leaned in favor of catching everyone before they leave. A basic Hollywood assumption is that the majority of audiences can't wait to leave a theatre as soon as the main event "appears" over.

 

Too bad many decisions in business have to cater to the stupid people.

 

Well done, Fin. I look forward to reading more from you. :-)

[doctordoctor]

very nicely written review, FFF...pleasant style and fun to read, so to speak...

 

we saw it yesterday...I'm glad they emphasized the presumably-religious reasons the hijackers did it and glad they made them look "sincere" doing it...of course, not defending them, but others movie-makers could've made them out to be screaming savages...hard to clarify what I mean...some of you know, I'm sure, that the movie was made in "real-time", meaning the actual length of the movie is timed to the sequence of actual events...it all happened fast, you'll realize...

[Guest Dan]

I saw it Sunday and have to agree with what Dargis wrote in the NY Times: It's the feel bad movie of the year.

 

Dan Dare

http://www.geocities.com/dandare_laca/DanDare4Hire.html

[+ Lucky]

I am paying by the minute here at the Chelsea internet cafe, so I can't read FFF's review as it is too long! But I did think the movie was VERY well done.

[Rod Hagen]

What Chelsea Internet Cafe? Where?

[Rod Hagen]

Frank Rich feels differently.

 

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/opinion/07rich.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fFrank%20Rich

[FinFangFoom]

>Frank Rich feels differently.

 

Poor Frank Rich has Bush Hatred Dementia so everything, even the heroism of ordinary Americans, is refracted through that disorder.

 

I pay just as much attention to Frank Rich's ravings as I do to someone staggering around Times Square with his underwear on his head and ranting about how aliens from the planet Zzutaak are using his lower intestines as a launching pad for the invasion of the Earth.

 

Universally yours,

 

FFF

[Guest zipperzone]

>I pay just as much attention to Frank Rich's ravings as I do

>to someone staggering around Times Square with his underwear

>on his head and ranting about how aliens from the planet

>Zzutaak are using his lower intestines as a launching pad for

>the invasion of the Earth.

 

And this doesn't sound reasonable to you?