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United 93

When we know the end
UNITED 93
Cert. 15
Director Paul Greengrass

It is an unusual experience to be sitting in a cinema knowing the outcome of the film you are about to see, especially as there is no happy ending here. As the lights went down my heart beat faster as I prepared for the real life disaster story to unfold.

United 93 is the first movie about the events of 9/11. Although the focus is the 44 people who board the United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco, four of whom are hijackers, the film cleverly sets the horror and bravery of this particular flight in the context of the whole day of terror. As two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre and another into the Pentagon, the citizens on board United Airways Flight 93 had to decide whether to sit tight or try to take back the plane. Writer/director Paul Greengrass sifts through the facts and theories from the 9/11 Commission to present what he thinks happened next in United 93.

Unexpected

Since 9/11 and other atrocities like 7/7, we have become accustomed to the idea of living in a world under the constant threat of terrorism. However, watching United 93 reminds you that no one really expected terrorists to turn into kamikaze pilots in passenger planes and fly into buildings. Greengrass underlines the unexpected nature of this attack as he cuts between the air and the ground, as the military and air traffic controllers are totally powerless to do anything about the unfolding crisis.

One of the things that strikes you is the sense of ‘everydayness’ that Greengrass creates. As you watch ordinary people going about their business, boarding, ordering breakfast, chatting about their plans with others, they are unaware that four of the passengers have other plans for this flight, unaware of how meaningless their conversations are, how helpless they will be when faced with evil and death. The tension builds as we wait for the hijackers to finally make their move. Then follows the most moving part of the film as the passengers and crew begin to realise the extent of their awful plight and start to phone their loved ones to say goodbye. There is no way out.

This is a brilliant and yet so troubling film. It illustrates both the heights and depths of human nature: at our most pained and inspirational, our most cruel and most kind and, ultimately, for all our striving, our helplessness in the face of evil and death. We need a rescuer.

As I left the cinema I realised that I live in another story for which I know the ending. It is the story about a world doomed to destruction, but there is life for those who believe in Christ. How many people still need to hear about that ending? Watch United 93 and you’re wishing you could tell the man who nearly misses his flight to miss it. Let’s get telling people about the true ending to this world.

Matthew Benton