I saw United 93
about three years ago and was well and truly shaken by it. I hadn’t seen such
an emotional and harrowing film since Schindler’s
List and wasn’t prepared for just how realistic and terrifying it was. I
think I was expecting a sort of Independence
Day-esque USA!
USA!
Saves the day! type film but what I got was a beautifully made, onslaught on my
emotions. I watched it again last night to introduce it to my girlfriend. The
film had the exact same impact on her and bought a tear to her eye. I found it
just as traumatic the second time around and the fact that we are flying to Newark with United in a
couple of weeks probably didn’t help our emotional state. The film left us both
feeling drained and depressed.
United 93 tells
the real story of the forth ill fated aircraft on 9/11. Almost brushed aside or
forgotten about on that day and in the years afterwards, the plane was hijacked
by four terrorists and heading for Washington (the film suggests The Capitol)
when news of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon reached the
passengers. Realising that this was a suicide mission, some of the passengers
got together to try and force their way into the cockpit and a single engine
pilot volunteered to attempt to land the place safely. History tells us this
was unsuccessful.