If there was ever a film that’s even more terrifying due to the realism of high definition, then United 93 is it. Made in the UK by the hugely talented British director Paul Greengrass, this nerve-racking drama draws on the events of September 11, 2001, focussing on the fourth hijacked plane (United Airlines flight 93), which crashed in Pennsylvania.
Sensibly ignoring all those conspiracy theories, the film uses the testimonies of air traffic control personnel, as well as recorded conversations from the aircraft itself. It all seems about as real as you could possibly get. Despite the fact that we all know what’s going to happen, Greengrass keeps the tension almost unbearably high through precise editing and edgy camerawork.
The cast, thankfully free of distracting star names, also do a superb job. Some of the air traffic control staff play themselves, while the words of the plane’s crew and passengers are mostly improvised. Although no one can be quite sure exactly what happened, it’s a respectful, highly convincing and compelling study of human nature in extreme circumstances.
Earlier, Greengrass made the TV docudrama Bloody Sunday and has also been a dab hand at Hollywood style spy action movies with The Bourne Supremacy (and the forthcoming Bourne Ultimatum). If ‘9/11’ didn’t put you off flying, then United 93 almost certainly will.
Related story: another recent Sky Movies HD premiere is The Matador.
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