United 93

Writer-director Paul Greengrass revisits September 11, 2001, focusing on the hijacked flight that crashed in rural Pennsylvania, apparently on its way to Washington, D.C. Greengrass employs the same documentary-style techniques that worked so well for him in 2002’s Bloody Sunday; instead of stars, he casts a mix of professional actors and real-life people playing themselves, doing what they did on that day. The movie is a powerful and stunning piece of filmmaking; Greengrass seems to capture headlong events almost by accident, yet his narrative is carefully constructed to move from a subdued, almost sleepy beginning to dawning awareness of the horror unfolding before our eyes. There are no cheap Hollywood touches and no exploitation, only a tribute to the terror, confusion and courage of that awful day.