Last Saturday night a friend suggested we go see United 93. He was in town staying with me and I had not seen him in a while. Besides he is both a retired USAF Lt. Col. and a recently retired American Airlines instructor pilot. I wanted to get his insight and his point of view. And I had thought of going to see it on my own anyway.
We went to a theater in North Hollywood at 9PM. The theater was half full and the audience was representative of Los Angeles.
My friend is a recovering Republican who will vote Libertarian rather that Democrat or Republican as a form of protest and because he identifies with Libertarian principles.
The reviews, from both right and left, had been very positive so my expectations were high.
The film was very well done in that sense my expectations were met. I had read a lot about the 9/11 events but I had obviously missed some important facts.
What was surprising to me was that I came out with a new perspective and so did my friend.
The terrorists are fleshed out without cheap shots or many stereotypes. They come out as both fanatics and, to a degree, as normal human beings. The cell leader calls his wife (fiancée?) to tell her he loves her before embarking on his suicide mission (is this a fact?). The youth of the terrorists is both accurate and shocking. Their prayers sessions may seem strange to non-Muslims, but they probably represent what is normal for Muslim men. As a side note, it may be of interest to some that one of the terrorists was played by an Iraqi actor (the only Iraqi connection to 9/11 so far). Ironically,
Lewis Alsamari, who plays the lead terrorist, was not allowed to enter the US to see his own premiere.
One thing I had not heard of before is that one of the terrorists had a bomb with a "dead man" switch. Now I understood how the highjackers were able to subdue the passengers long enough. A "dead man" switch goes off if it is released or in other words, when you kill the man holding the bomb. So jumping him may not work very well.
My friend stressed afterward that he was impressed with the re-enactment of the highjacking itself. He pointed that to be effective the terrorists had to act decisively, suddenly and violently and they did in the film. The retired American Airlines instructor pilot was impressed.
The director, Paul Greengrass, who also directed the excellent fim "The Bourne Supremacy", does not use much World Trade Center footage, just enough to remind the audience. Interestingly, the role of FAA Operations Manager is played by the actual FAA Operations Manager on 9/11 (he started as a consultant but the director offered him the role). Trivia fact; (?) Ben Sliney may be the only two person who plays himself in a non-fiction feature film (are there others?). 9/11 was his first day at the job.
95% of the film sets the stage for the now historical "Let's roll!" moment. And it sets it with accuracy, patience and compassion.
My friend commented that he counted numerous technical errors in FAA and cockpit procedures (as many as 30 he said) but he also said that they did not detract from the drama. One of his observations was that there seemed to be zero cooperation from the US Air Force in making the film. No footage of scrambling F-16 out of any of the three bases mentioned. The Air Force liaison to the FAA was nowhere to be found and Ben Sliney grabs the first Air Force officer around, miscast overweight actor. The US Air Force does not come out in flying colors in United 93. For all their billions in budget, the film stresses that there was zero air defense capabilities that day, ZERO. Conspiracy theorists may have a field day with United 93. My friend insisted that he was not surprised at how unprepared to scramble ANY ARMED jet fighter the US Air Force was. He is my expert on this so far.
The different key players on the ground keep asking to get in touch with W and Cheney repeatedly, via different channels. Cheney is nowhere in sight (oh yea! he was running for the nearest bunker) but he never made himself available to the Air Force or the FAA. And Bush was having a Pet Goat day. When there was a need for real leadership, none was in sight.
The audience broke into cheers when the "first counterattack of WW III" was launched in the final and very tragic last 5 minutes of the film. The passenger and flight attendant were also fleshed out very believingly by the director and the actors.
But to me there was one thing about United 93 that I interpret as the key message of this outstanding film. As the passengers and flight attendants start learning what happened to the other highjacked planes, they start organizing and formulating and eventually execute a plan with a fighting chance. When average Americans learn the truth, they fight bravely and effectively. This message seems to me an anti-metaphor for the current situation of an administration that lies to get Americans to support a pre-emptive war.
The truth shall set you free America. The big lie of the neo-cons is not what gets Americans to win wars, it does not work. Truth is the best weapon of a free people.
My friend came out questioning even more his vote for Bush in 2004.
I came out convinced that United 93 is a film that is well crafted and truly highlights the heroism of average Americans. Americans who will never again let any highjackers take control of a plane over the United States. The Land of the Free DOES NOT NEED the excesses of the TSA at airports, because it is the Home of the Brave.
W listen; job 1 is to tell us the truth not to keep us safe. You tell us the truth and we will know what to do.
I rest my case.
Also posted in MyLeftWing