Not often does someone give $7.50 for a ticket to a movie with no big-name actors or central superhero. Yet that’s what a bunch of us from Lakeside did last night as we saw “United 93″ for the first time.
“United 93″ is a well-told story of the passengers and crew of the only hijacked flight on 9-11 that didn’t reach its target, thanks to the heroism of a dedicated group of passengers. Throughout the film, it was evident that director Paul Greengrass took pains to ensure that the film was told with breathtaking detail and as factually as possible.
The viewer is taken from the start of another day at the National Air Traffic Control Center, to the eventual crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. The tense moments aboard that flight are captured in painful detail, yet the story is told in a way that makes sure to honor each person who gave their lives to ensure no one on the ground lost theirs.
Particularly etched in my mind are two scenes: first, the air traffic controllers in New Jersey, with all their technologically advanced equipment around them, still look out the window and see first-hand the second plane hit the World Trade Center; and second, the passengers of Flight 93 rallying together and overpowering the terrorists.
Seeing “United 93″ brought 9-11 into a whole new perspective for me. In the days and months after September 11, 2001, we had never really gone inside the mind of the passengers and experienced the hell they went through. This film allows us to sit beside the people on Flight 93, share their pain when they call their loved ones to say goodbye, and cheer for them as they fight back against heartless cowards.
In my mind, the passengers of Flight 93 are modern American heroes…they carried on the same spirit that each generation that had gone before them had fought for. “United 93″ tells their story, and each American that regards passengers such as Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Mark Bingham and Tom Burnett as heroes would do well to honor their memory by seeing this riveting story.
And yes, in case you’re wondering, I did cry in the middle of the movie theater. I’m proud of it.
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