United 93

On one of the darkest days of American history, 40 people stood up and fought for the lives of their countrymen, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. The film, "United 93," is a real-life depiction of what happened on that morning flight, and portrays the struggle that the passengers went through to take back the aircraft.

The film begins with everyone arriving at the airport. It's a sunny, cloudless Tuesday morning. Passengers go through the security check-point, then sit down and patiently read a magazine or make a brief phone call. Everyone is at peace, not knowing the fate that awaits them. The only ones who know of the atrocities that are about to unfold are the hijackers, who frighteningly enough are sitting right next to the passengers, waiting to board the airplane. The passengers have no idea that the four men sitting with them in the waiting area are terrorists.

While the United 93 passengers are waiting to board the plane, the film shows us the sequence of events that begin happening that morning on September 11. Aircraft controllers are directing planes for take-off, including American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175. Ben Sliney begins his first day as National Operations Manager for the FAA.

Suddenly, a suspicious transmission is heard from American 11. It's believed that the flight is a hijack. Although concerned, no one is prepared for what will happen next. The flight crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. Employees at the FAA are shocked. They believe the flight that hit the tower was American 11; the plane they know was hijacked. "Why would it hit the tower?" they wonder. While everyone is running around trying to confirm if American 11 hit the World Trade Center, the FAA gets the news that another flight may be hijacked - United 175. No one knows what is going on. Aircraft controllers are panicked at United 175's rapidly descending altitude. By this time, hundreds of news networks are broadcasting live from New York, reporting about the crash into the North Tower. As Flight 175 descends more and more, the aircraft becomes noticed on the television screen. Seconds later, it crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. It's now clear to the FAA and to the rest of the world that America is under attack from terrorists.

By this time, United 93 is in the air. While there is chaos happening on land, there is peace for now in the sky. The whole world is in shock that the Twin Towers are in flames and people are frightened to know they are under attack, but the passengers aboard Flight 93 know nothing of this. They have no idea anything bad is happening, and are tranquilly sleeping, reading a book or drinking a cup of coffee. At this point in the film, it looks more relaxing on the aircraft than it does on land. The flight attendants are passing out breakfast, and the captain anticipates a landing in San Francisco in a few hours.

As the passengers are settling in to their breakfasts and naps, the hijackers take over the plane. A passenger in first class and a flight attendant have been stabbed, and the pilots have been severely injured as well. As pilot hijacker, Ziad Jarrah, takes over the aircraft, the flight plunges dramatically, frightening the passengers, who have been herded to the back of the plane. Once the aircraft is stabilized, the passengers begin to talk amongst themselves. "What is going on?" "Who got stabbed?" "Why are they doing this?" "What do they want?" One of the hijackers claims he has a bomb, and the rest of the hijackers have knives.

The passengers believe at first that they're going back to the airport, but when they find out the pilots aren't flying the plane and when family members inform them of the terrorist attacks happening, it's clear to the passengers that this is a suicide mission and that the plane will not be landed safely. The plane is destined for either the White House or the U.S. Capitol Building. The passengers then decide to take back the aircraft. They know their fate either way, so the passengers decide to land the plane themselves and save as many lives as possible on the ground. They all come up with a plan to overcome the armed hijackers and break into the cockpit. At this point in the film, the audience's heart breaks as we see passengers saying goodbye to loved ones on the phone for the last time. Then we sadly watch as the passengers struggle to take back the aircraft, and tears begin to streak down as the passengers bravely go down with the airplane. Then the film ends, and everything goes black. United 93 is down.

One of the best elements about the film is the accuracy it portrays. The film isn't "overly-Hollywood" with over-the-top special effects and an over-dramatized plot. What you see is what would have really happened on that morning. The passengers' names aren't said in the film, because in real life they all were strangers on the plane and probably didn't know each other's names anyway. The terminology isn't simplified for the audience. The air traffic controllers use the real terms that they would use on the job, and the military uses the same terms as well . . . terms like "squawking" or a "7500 code."

Even the cast isn't entirely actors. Ben Sliney portrays himself in the film, many of the aircraft controllers play themselves, and the United 93 flight crew is completely portrayed by real pilots and flight attendants, some of whom really work for United Airlines. This all ensures that the film is as accurate as possible.

The cast of actors who play the passengers talked extensively with the passengers' families to make sure they were playing their roles accurately. The actor would go and meet with the family of the passenger they were portraying, and the family would discuss their loved one's personality and mannerisms. The families even provided details about what their loved ones were wearing on that morning, and what magazines they might have read on the plane or what candy they might have snacked on during the flight. Even the pins on the uniform worn by actress/flight attendant Trish Gates in the film are the actual airline pins that belonged to flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw, the woman Gates portrays in the film. They were donated by Phil Bradshaw, Sandra's husband, to replicate her uniform for the film.

Director Paul Greengrass even wanted to be sure that the actors who played the passengers and the actors that played the hijackers were kept as separate as possible from each other. According to IMDb, the two groups of actors stayed in separate hotels during filming. They also worked out in different gyms and did not eat meals together. This was done to be sure that there was a certain amount of fear and uncertainty between the two groups.

Every time I see this film I get chills because I know this is the most accurate portrayal possible of what really happened to United 93 on the morning of September 11. You also get a twinge of sadness at the beginning of the movie, because you start to get to know the passengers on screen, but you know their ultimate fate. I think this film was honorably made, and a lot of respect was given to the fallen heroes and their family members. The families were even allowed to see the film before the public saw it in theaters, plus part of the proceeds the film earned were given to the future memorial for United 93. I have a lot of respect for this film, and it lets the audience remember the all the heroes of that September morning.