Movie Review: United 93 (2006)

United 93 (2006)

Director: Paul Greengrass

Conspiracy theories abound when it comes to what actually transpired during the morning of 9/11.  I have come across several articles speculating the causes behind the tragedy. These ranged from reasonable to utterly nonsensical.  But what is accepted almost unanimously is that the passengers on United 93 stirred up courage and stood together in adverse circumstances, possibly saving many lives and also inspiring others for years to come. It is this story of valour, driven out of desperation and the sheer instinct for survival, which forms the central theme of the Paul Greengrass movie.

On a seemingly normal sunny day, passengers board a routine flight at the Newark Airport bound to San Francisco. Unknown to the passengers, there are, in their midst, four terrorists who would stop at nothing to achieve their target. The flight take-off gets delayed due to high air traffic, and in the meantime the North Tower is hit by a flight 11. This induces shock and confusion in the air traffic control room as well as in the air command base as no one really knows what exactly is going on. It is only after a second plane hits the South Tower that the authorities get a whiff of the co-ordinated terrorist attack. They are too late in realizing that they are dealing with multiple hijackings. Alert messages are sounded off to all the flights but in vain, as another plane crashes into the Pentagon, while the fourth plane United 93 is successfully taken over by the hijackers. The moments following the take-over are gut-wrenching as we come face-to-face with our basest fear, the fear of death. Amidst this fear and turmoil, the passengers discover unity and courage and dare to fight back, very nearly managing to regain control of the cockpit. Alas, it is not to be. We know the rest.

The subject matter is extremely sensitive and even the slightest of errors on the part of the filmmaker would have ended up being labeled as exploitative. But Paul Greengrass has taken every care to make this film with utmost sincerity and sensitivity. He does not take any sides - neither are the terrorists glorified nor are the heroics of the passengers given the typical Hollywood treatment (read Die Hard). In fact, the portrayal of the terrorists as well as the innocent passengers is very impressive. The hijackers are not unnecessarily demonized and they are shown to experience anxiety and fear just like all others in the plane (for different reasons, though). The passengers simply seem to be ordinary people who unfortunately get stuck in a hellish situation. Many of the actors including the flight stewardesses and the people in the air traffic control, most notably Ben Sliney, play themselves in the movie, and this lends some level of authenticity and realism to the film.

The director completely decides to do away with character and development and nearly every character is given equal importance. There is no single person in the entire cast whose background is known and who is projected as the archetypical hero and this indeed helps in making United 93 stand out from other such films belonging to the genre. For the most part, we have the feeling that we are actually watching a real incident, that too from very close quarters. Greengrass makes you a part of the action and when the proceedings take a dreadful turn, it hits you hard.

The cast comprises of unknown faces that do not come with the past baggage of image and stereotype. And the performances of the actors hardly disappoint. In the last half hour, you see the proceedings from their point of view, and to their credit, their body language, demeanour and expressions make the tension palpable. Also, their transformation from being passive, frightened prisoners to finally deciding to take control of the situation is very believable.

The pace slackens a bit in the first hour with some repetitive scenes, but Greengrass' experience in documentary filmmaking holds him in good stead in the second hour. The unsteady camerawork, unconventional choice of actors and the knowledge that the events shown on film actually happened create a very disturbing and traumatic atmosphere. The scene of the sudden and violent take-over by the hijackers is particularly unsettling. The scenes that follow are no less distressing. But the last few reels make us root for the passengers and pray for their life even though we know how all of this ended.

Intense, and sometimes difficult to watch, United 93 is a heartfelt tribute to the unwavering human spirit, witnessed in the direst of situations. Watch it, but only when you are ready for it.

Movie Review: Source Code (2011)

Source Code (2011)
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga 

Saturday night always brings up in me a desperate desire to watch pure and unadulterated escapist fare.  A quick sifting through the list of thrillers on IMDb made me settle for Source Code. At least it looked much superior to the recent spate of mindless action movies starring Nicholas Cage and Jason Statham. Thankfully, I was not disappointed!

The movie comes to the point in the very first scene. A commuter train in Chicago becomes the target of a terrorist attack, and is completely wrecked by an explosion. Before this tragic incident occurs, we are introduced to Coulter Stevens(Jake Gyllenhaal), who is perplexed by his presence in Chicago, because the last memory he has is of flying as an Air Force pilot in Afghanistan. Even more baffling is the fact that he is unable to recognise his own face. He begins to believe he is trapped inside the body of someone else! His beliefs turn out to be true when after the explosion, he finds himself in a pod, and Goodwin(Vera Farmiga) contacts him through video and explains to him that he is part of a the latest innovation in criminal investigation called Source Code which allows a person to be placed in the consciousness of another dead person in the last eight minutes of his life. The bombing of the commuter train had already taken place and it is left to Stevens to find out the culprit. He is repeatedly sent back into the Source Code but each time he ends up dead and in the pod. However, every time he goes back, he becomes more and more infatuated by Christina(Monaghan), a girl who seems to be in love with the person Stevens has taken over. Moreover, new truths about his life and the Source Code begin to tumble out. As he marches ahead in his search for the bomber, he also has to contend with the bitter realities of his own existence, his growing emotions towards Christina and the mind-games played by Goodwin's boss Rutledge.

Jake Gyllenhaal pitches in a very convincing performance as a person who is completely dazed to start with, but after spending time inside the source code and going through tough and demanding experiences, learns the importance of life, love and relationships. Gyllenhaal is equally adept in the tender and emotional scenes as he is in the action sequences. Michelle Monaghan as Christina is extremely likable(I instantly fell in love with her!!) and her innocence acts as the perfect foil to Gyllenhaal's gritty character. Vera Farmiga is splendid in her role as the duty-bound officer with a heart of gold.

The narrative structure is similar to movies such as Vantage Point, however, the premise here is very different. The incident of the train explosion is shown multiple times, however the difference in each scene lies in the manner Stevens tackles the problem and goes about his task of finding out the bomber. It is a novel technique of story-telling and is significant in raising the thrill factor of the film. 

Source Code is definitely not an out-and-out action film. Rather, it unfolds as a suspense thriller with the only problem being that a major twist comes a bit too early in the film and there are no significant revelations to follow it up till the very end. The ending, though intended to be a surprise, is never too hard to predict. 

Well begun is only half-done. Source Code starts with a bang and the director manages to maintain the thrill quotient till quite sometime. But the film loses some steam in the latter portions. The ending, though predictable, has a certain feel-good quality to it which is bound to make you come out smiling. Not the best thrillers to hit the silver screen, but the able performances and tight editing make Source Code rise above its shortcomings. With elements of action, suspense and romance in equal measure, this film is a worthwhile weekend watch.