United 93

I don't think there has been a film that has ever been made so soon after a major tragedy depicting it on the big screen. Gone With the Wind was 50 years later, A Night to Remember was about 40 years later, and there were some Vietnam War classics, but those were years and years after the beginning of the war. In the case of September 11, 2001, United 93 (2006) was made less than 5 years later.

The movie itself is pretty basic, but that was really the only way to go about the subject matter. Unknown actors make up the cast of the film and handheld cameras make the viewer feel like they are another passenger in the plane. The story is well known by now as the plane that was thought to be headed for the U.S. capitol building that was brought down by the passengers on the plane before it reached its target. Watching the movie on opening weekend was an intense emotional experience that I will never forget. I don't think there will ever be another movie with the power that this one had just years after something the country experienced together.

This is still a powerful, raw film and I am still shocked that it was not nominated for Best Picture on a year when Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen were up for the prize. (9.1/10)