2006 ROUNDUP: UNITED 93 (Greengrass)

I avoided this one for a long, long while. I recall the evening of 09/11/2001, lying in bed trying to process everything that happened that day. I recalled everyone saying, "It seemed like something out of a [Michael Bay] movie." This, of course, meant that the day's events would make perfect fodder for jingoistic CGIfests motivated purely by profit. I made my decision to never see a film about 9/11. And then I went and saw one five years later, and it was a lot better than I thought it would be.

I am in no way a patriot. I wouldn't serve this country in war and I actively dream about living in Europe or Canada. I cried while watching UNITED 93. Not just once, several times. It is a work of restrained beauty (yes, beauty) that takes a clinical look at the day's events. It is also, when necessary, extremely violent, as any story about 9/11 must ultimately be. The distanced approach to the material is juxtaposed with shocking acts of violence. Avoiding both cliche and explanation, Greengrass presents us with just the facts, as they happened, and because of this, he comes very fucking close to re-creating the utter confusion and senselessness of 09/11/2001. It is an extremely scary, extremely emotional place to be. It is a film that everyone should see, but that you're going to have to force yourself to watch. One of the absolute best films of 2006.