Most of the movies I see these days are at least a year or two old. That's not accidental -- it's so much easier to record a movie from the many, many movie channels we receive, courtesy of the father in law in the basement, than it would be to actually GET OUT TO A MOVIE. It's pretty much gotta be a summer-type blockbuster or a kids' movie for me to be able to go. (Juno recently was a huge exception. It's the only Best Picture nominee I've seen.) I mean, I COULD go -- don't mean to make it sound like my husband locks me up. But it's kind of not worth the effort, most of the time. And Matt's not really keen to see Atonement, you know?
I've wanted to see United 93 for some time. I heard excellent things about it when it came out (2006). On one hand, do I want to relive 9/11? Not that it was specifically tragic for me, but, you know. Quite the emotional wringer. On the other hand, rumored to be a really well-done movie. My respect for director Paul Greengrass is growing with each movie I see of his -- Bourne Ultimatum, baby! -- so Matt and I watched United 93 last night.
And it was REALLY good. Really well-done. Unlike most other movies about traumatic occurrences, in that it didn't rely on most of the tried-and-true crutches directors love to use to wring emotions out of the viewers. The music was quite subdued. I was surprised at what Greengrass DIDN'T show -- Matt and I missed the first 15 or so minutes, but basically, all we saw were the folks on the flight (and NOT constant shots of their families clutching each other in their living rooms at home, or anything like that) and dudes in various airline control centers. Many of whom played THEMSELVES, I noticed with surprise at the end of the movie. The terrorists didn't look particularly evil, really. I would've taken the main dude for a rather sensitive soul, aside from the monobrow, and one of the others must've been about 19. We saw the footage of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center, but not the first one, because no one really saw that. And we didn't see the towers fall. Because those weren't relevant elements to the story being told. Commendable. The director obviously tried really hard to show us just what was known. No extra drama -- does this story really need it? We did get a muffled 'C'mon! Let's roll!' at one point, but it wasn't nearly as overly dramatic as I was expecting.
I also found it interesting -- maybe this was known, but I hadn't heard it -- that the people on the plane were, yes, heroes, and were, yes, trying to stop the terrorists once they caught on that they were on a suicide mission, so what was there to lose? -- but the passengers also seemed to have a hope that they would get an undercover pilot up to the cockpit and somehow survive. I guess I appreciate the fact that it wasn't ENTIRELY altruistic on the part of the passengers. They were, in fact, really regular people. Many weren't involved in the charge at all. Shades of gray.
Greengrass is one of the shaky-cam masters -- something I have up until now held against him. But he used it with effectiveness here. Maybe it was because I was home, not in a movie theater, but it didn't make me ill, nor was it too distracting. And how else DO you show a bunch of people charging terrorists in a cockpit? No other way, that's how. I don't know how much more effective a 'movie ends with a fade to black' could possibly be.
Another aspect of the movie that really struck me was the religious fervor. Mostly of the terrorists, as you might imagine. I think if I'd seen this movie 20 years ago, I would've had a very different reaction. Seeing it now made me realize that many see Christians not too differently than I was seeing these misguided souls. (for clarity, I refer here to the specific attitudes of these men, not that of their religion as a whole.) That they thought they were hearing from God. That they thought killing would send them to heaven, and would be God's will. It's absolutely insane. And yet I feel like I'm frequently hearing people warp Christianity in much the same ways -- usually falling short of killing people, it's true. It's just so easy to get caught up in a Cause, instead of in God himself. I can understand why the Christian faith makes so many so uneasy. (for instance, many voters who hear a candidate speak specifically of his faith.)
Toward the end, there's a touching scene where the terrorists, who are now flying the plane, realize that the people in the back know what's going on, and yet they still have 20 or so minutes until they arrive at their target. That their fake bomb and clever plan are probably not going to work. The 'pilot' is sitting there, gripping the wheel (or whatever it's called), sweating profusely, praying desperately to Allah for help. Then you're shown the people in the back of the plane, with a death grip on the arms of their seats or someone else's hand, reciting the Lord's prayer (individually, but many are doing it) for all they're worth.
In the end, it seems we all believe in something.
It's the sort of movie that doesn't overdramatize, but still makes you want to call your loved ones and tell them, 'I love you -- that's all I wanted to say.' And realize how lucky you are that you will be living another day.
I've wanted to see United 93 for some time. I heard excellent things about it when it came out (2006). On one hand, do I want to relive 9/11? Not that it was specifically tragic for me, but, you know. Quite the emotional wringer. On the other hand, rumored to be a really well-done movie. My respect for director Paul Greengrass is growing with each movie I see of his -- Bourne Ultimatum, baby! -- so Matt and I watched United 93 last night.
And it was REALLY good. Really well-done. Unlike most other movies about traumatic occurrences, in that it didn't rely on most of the tried-and-true crutches directors love to use to wring emotions out of the viewers. The music was quite subdued. I was surprised at what Greengrass DIDN'T show -- Matt and I missed the first 15 or so minutes, but basically, all we saw were the folks on the flight (and NOT constant shots of their families clutching each other in their living rooms at home, or anything like that) and dudes in various airline control centers. Many of whom played THEMSELVES, I noticed with surprise at the end of the movie. The terrorists didn't look particularly evil, really. I would've taken the main dude for a rather sensitive soul, aside from the monobrow, and one of the others must've been about 19. We saw the footage of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center, but not the first one, because no one really saw that. And we didn't see the towers fall. Because those weren't relevant elements to the story being told. Commendable. The director obviously tried really hard to show us just what was known. No extra drama -- does this story really need it? We did get a muffled 'C'mon! Let's roll!' at one point, but it wasn't nearly as overly dramatic as I was expecting.
I also found it interesting -- maybe this was known, but I hadn't heard it -- that the people on the plane were, yes, heroes, and were, yes, trying to stop the terrorists once they caught on that they were on a suicide mission, so what was there to lose? -- but the passengers also seemed to have a hope that they would get an undercover pilot up to the cockpit and somehow survive. I guess I appreciate the fact that it wasn't ENTIRELY altruistic on the part of the passengers. They were, in fact, really regular people. Many weren't involved in the charge at all. Shades of gray.
Greengrass is one of the shaky-cam masters -- something I have up until now held against him. But he used it with effectiveness here. Maybe it was because I was home, not in a movie theater, but it didn't make me ill, nor was it too distracting. And how else DO you show a bunch of people charging terrorists in a cockpit? No other way, that's how. I don't know how much more effective a 'movie ends with a fade to black' could possibly be.
Another aspect of the movie that really struck me was the religious fervor. Mostly of the terrorists, as you might imagine. I think if I'd seen this movie 20 years ago, I would've had a very different reaction. Seeing it now made me realize that many see Christians not too differently than I was seeing these misguided souls. (for clarity, I refer here to the specific attitudes of these men, not that of their religion as a whole.) That they thought they were hearing from God. That they thought killing would send them to heaven, and would be God's will. It's absolutely insane. And yet I feel like I'm frequently hearing people warp Christianity in much the same ways -- usually falling short of killing people, it's true. It's just so easy to get caught up in a Cause, instead of in God himself. I can understand why the Christian faith makes so many so uneasy. (for instance, many voters who hear a candidate speak specifically of his faith.)
Toward the end, there's a touching scene where the terrorists, who are now flying the plane, realize that the people in the back know what's going on, and yet they still have 20 or so minutes until they arrive at their target. That their fake bomb and clever plan are probably not going to work. The 'pilot' is sitting there, gripping the wheel (or whatever it's called), sweating profusely, praying desperately to Allah for help. Then you're shown the people in the back of the plane, with a death grip on the arms of their seats or someone else's hand, reciting the Lord's prayer (individually, but many are doing it) for all they're worth.
In the end, it seems we all believe in something.
It's the sort of movie that doesn't overdramatize, but still makes you want to call your loved ones and tell them, 'I love you -- that's all I wanted to say.' And realize how lucky you are that you will be living another day.
I've been on the fence about this movie - it was kinda bad day for me :( But I think I might just have to take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'd love to see Atonement! Kate, do you think the GNU team is reading this?