Mark Beattie:
United 93
Released in the early spring, United 93, showed audiences a real-time, documentary account of what happened on one of the hijacked planes, and inside the command centers of the FAA and military.
Director Paul Greengrass captured the intensity of the situation to a frightening level, in telling this story of the lone plane that failed to reach its target on 9/11.
United 93 featured a cast of unknown actors, which is fitting since as an audience we know nothing about the people they are portraying. There is no back story for any of these characters; we know only as much as we would if we were riding next to any of them on the plane.
The story keeps the audience on its heels shifting back and forth between the passengers on board the plane, the hijackers, and the various federal offices and personnel.
By displaying all perspectives, Greengrass builds the climax to almost an unbearable level. In the end, we are left with a truly stunning account of what went on inside the planes and federal offices on 9/11.
World Trade Center
Where United 93 was focused strictly on the events, World Trade Center had more of a traditional outline, telling the true story of a few New York Port Authority Police Officers on duty on Sept. 11 2001.
Directed by Oliver Stone, World Trade Center did the officers, and their families’ justice, keeping the film in good taste. In what is such a difficult subject, even 5 years after the events, Stone brought instant credibility to the project; something that was necessary for this particular task. In past films like JFK, and Born on the 4th of July Stone has shown his ability to take controversial historical events and capture them in not only a powerful and direct fashion, but also with meaning and relevance.
Nicolas Cage is on board as Sergeant John McLoughlin of the Port Authority Police. McLoughlin is the kind of guy we all expect these heroic NYPD officers were; he’s assertive and concise.
Hearing that there is a disaster mounting, he immediately assembles his team to move to the scene. When they arrive they’re shown up close images and icons that many of us have associated with the attacks. They witness the ash, garbage, smoke, and bodies plummeting from the building windows.
When the team arrives on the ground floor, the 2nd plane hits the tower, and the building begins to collapse on them; this is when the story becomes a survival film, as McLoughlin and fellow PA Officer Will Jimeno, played by Michael Pena, fight to hold on, using the images of their families to hold on. The story switches back and forth between the trapped officers and their struggling families. Also spotlighted are the officers and volunteers who worked well into the night at the wreckage.
ABC Mini-series
With the praise these 2 films have received from both critics and audiences, ABC has scheduled its mini-series titled The Path to 9/11.
Airing Sunday, Sept. 10 and Monday, Sept. 11, the series is designed to take viewers into a ‘behind-the-scenes’ type of look at the CIA, FBI, and White House and their involvement with it.
The series focus’s in on key members in the investigation including FBI agent John O’Neil (played by the always entertaining Harvey Keitel) who has made a career out of chasing Osama Bin Ladin. It also details the involvement of other staff members such as Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and CIA Director George Tenet. The story is based on the best-selling 9/11 Commission Report, and begins with the 1993 bombing of the WTC, and ends Sep 11 2001.
So today, think about renting United 93, going to the theaters to see World Trade Center or watching The Path to 9/11. All 3 of these will give you a unique experience of what happened on that sad day.
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