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'United 93' takes a deep look into gaping wounds

"United 93" is exactly the movie it should be — respectful of the real Sept. 11 victims it portrays, revealing about that horrific day's events, consistently emotionally gripping, and most certainly startlingly honest. It easily ranks as the best movie so far this year.

The first big-screen feature film to focus exclusively on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, "United 93" is already a powder-keg issue. Some believe the movie, detailing what happened to the 40 doomed passengers and crew and four terrorists aboard the airline, should never have been made.

Universal Studios 'United 93' A- Director: Paul Greengrass Starring: Opal Alladin, Erich Redman, Ben Sliney, Susan Blommaert, Peter Hermann Run time: 111 minutes Release date: April 28, 2006 Rating: R for some intense sequences of terror and violence. See showtimes Hollywood on tragedy Hollywood typically — but not always — has waited longer to depict major traumatic events than it has with "United 93." Is it too soon? Atlantans share their thoughts about 'United 93' on this AccessAtlanta blog. On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'United 93'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

That view is understandable. Few tragic events like those that unfolded on that fateful day have so shaken America's collective psyche to its core.

If fears and discomfort can be quelled, know that "United 93," a low-budget production at an estimated $15 million, never feels exploitative. It's also supported by the victims' families.

The film is by no means a typical Hollywood action movie. There are no big-name actors and only a few recognizable ones. "United 93" avoids overt melodrama and over-stoked panic. At the same time, it does force audiences to look deep into the gaping wounds of Sept. 11.

There is blood. There is horror.

In an intimate, you-are-there style, director Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Supremacy," "Bloody Sunday") employs hand-held cameras, moving about the inside of the hijacked plane and a myriad of crowded control towers and command centers. "United 93" underscores the confusion, the hysteria and the dumbfounding reality that gripped us all as unfathomable hijackings resulted in attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Who can forget the ugliness of that day? Terrorists hijack a series of planes. New York's twin towers are hit by two planes in succession. The Pentagon is unexpectedly ablaze. And on United Flight 93 headed for San Francisco, terrorists take over the plane and turn it east toward Washington and, apparently, the U.S. Capitol.

What you see in terms of the attacks themselves seems to mirror what television news viewers witnessed at the time. We don't see the initial plane strike the first tower, but we do see the second assault. We witness only the smoking aftermath of the Pentagon attack.

Ultimately, the film's heart is the story of everyday people on that plane. They are men and women leading everyday lives who face fear and most certain death — and decide to try and do something about it.

Greengrass smartly uses a feeling of cinéma vérité, making movie audiences feel like flies on the wall. Characters are rarely identified. Many in the control towers are nonactors playing themselves.

What we see often in the early part of the film is the mundane reality of a typical day — short snippets of private conversations (one stewardess casually remarks to a co-worker, "she's got a crush on the maintenance man...") and short moments one might see glancing about any airport (people talking on cellphones, reading newspapers).

As the reality of the day's terrorism sets in, the film's dread builds.

We all know what's going to happen. We read it over and over in newspaper story after story after the attacks. Saw it detailed in film and TV documentaries. Read or heard TV newspeople recite portions of flight recordings.

Still, nothing can fully prepare moviegoers for the sights and sounds of "United 93."

It's like watching Meryl Streep's silent scream in "Sophie's Choice." Or the rushing of the unclothed Jewish women into the baths in "Schindler's List." Or Don Cheadle discovering in "Hotel Rwanda" that bumps in the road under his truck on a foggy day are really countless victims of genocide.

Like those other worthy films, "United 93" peers into the face of horror. And does so with an aching heart and cathartic purpose.