Swallow (2019 film)

 

Written and directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis, Swallow is the story of a young woman who marries a wealthy man as she starts to swallow inedible objects as a way to cope with newfound marriage and stifling domestic life. The film is a character study of a woman coming apart in her new world as she becomes troubled by her surroundings as well as the expectations of being the wife of a wealthy man. Starring Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, and Denis O’Hare. Swallow is a haunting and compelling film from Carlo Mirabella-Davis.

The film is the simple story of a poor woman who is married to a man from a wealthy family as she becomes pregnant yet becomes suffocated by her new environment and the role that she is meant to play where she starts to swallow inedible objects to cope with her issues. It is a film with a simple premise yet it is a character study of a woman who marries into a family of wealth where their son is expected for great things as he demands that his wife be this object of perfection and beauty. Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ script has a straightforward narrative yet it focuses largely on its protagonist in Hunter Conrad (Haley Bennett) who spends much of her time at home cleaning and such as a way to make her husband Richie (Austin Stowell) happy but she becomes unhappy due to his neglect and the presence of his parents who want her to be this figure that they need for their image. Still, Hunter begins to unravel as her condition, known as pica, would worsen as Richie’s parents hire a family friend in Luay (Laith Nakli) to watch over her yet he starts to see that something isn’t right as does Hunter’s psychiatrist Alice (Zabryna Guevara) who manages to get something from Hunter realizing what is wrong.

Mirabella-Davis’ direction is stylish in its compositions as there are little movements in the camera yet much of it has the camera not moving in order to create these shots to play into Hunter’s disconnect with the world she’s in. Shot on various locations in Highland, New York near the Hudson River where Richie and Hunter’s home is as well as other locations in upstate New York. Mirabella-Davis plays up this world that Hunter is in as it is spacious and posh with the finest furniture and decorations yet it is also quite cold as the usage of wide and medium shots play into this growing disconnect that Hunter has in her home as well as the world around her. The usage of close-ups come in whenever Hunter would swallow an object such as a marble, a paper clip, and other things eventually swallowing something as dangerous as a thumbtack. It adds to this air of danger and disruption into Hunter’s marriage to Richie while the signs that not everything as it seems come early when Richie complains about a silk tie that’s been ironed.

Mirabella-Davis also play up into the psyche of Hunter as she would fall apart but then get better and then fall apart again such as a key shot in the second act where Richie is having a phone conversation while Hunter is planting flowers. It is a moment where Hunter’s own secrets about her life begins to play into her head as she would later hide in shame with Luay realizing that something isn’t right in that house despite the fact that he’s working for Richie’s parents to watch her. The third act does play into not just the air of extremes that is pushed for Hunter but also revelations about her marriage along with the need to understand on who she is. Overall, Mirabella-Davis crafts a mesmerizing yet unsettling film about a woman with a troubling condition in pica as a way to cope with her new marriage and suffocating environment.

Cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi does excellent work with the film’s cinematography to play up the bright look of the house interiors in the day along with some low-key lighting for some scenes at night including a party scene where a co-worker of Richie uses a stupid flirt trick. Editor Joe Murphy does terrific work with the editing as a lot of it is straightforward with some long shots that do linger for a bit to play into Hunter’s own growing isolation. Production designer Erin Magill and set decorator Frank Baran do amazing work with the look of the interior at Richie and Hunter’s home including the room for the baby as well as their bedroom as it play into the disconnect that Hunter is coping with. Costume designer Liene Dobraja does fantastic work with the costumes from the expensive clothes that Richie wears along with some of the posh dresses and such that Hunter wears as it play into the role that she has to play for Richie’s family and friends that eventually becomes stifling.

Special effects supervisor Pete Gerner and visual effects supervisor Alex Nobel do wonderful work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects in a few of the objects along with some set dressing in a few scenes. Sound editor Michael Kurihara does superb work with the film’s sound as the usage of natural sounds at the house add to the tense and troubling atmosphere in the film as it also amps up the drama. The film’s music by Nathan Halpern is brilliant for its orchestral score as it play into the drama as well as Hunter’s own isolation while music supervisor Joe Rudge provides a soundtrack that add to that isolation ranging from classical, jazz, dance, and new wave.

The casting by Allison Twardziak is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Babak Tafti as a co-worker of Richie that uses a pick-up line to win over women, Nicole Kang as a young girl named Bev, Lauren Velez as that girl’s mother Lucy, Zabryna Guevara as Hunter’s psychiatrist Alice who gets an understanding of what Hunter is dealing with, Laith Nakli as a family friend of Richie’s parents who watches over Hunter as he also has an understanding that Richie nor his parents are able to comprehend, and Denis O’Hare in a superb performance late in the film as a man that Hunter needed to meet as he would give her some answers. David Rasche and Elizabeth Marvel are excellent in their respective roles as Richie’s parents in Michael and Katherine Conrad with the former being a man of control as he is trying to make sure Hunter gets the best treatment but with motives of his own while the latter is also a person of control as she tries to get Hunter to read self-help books and such while also having a motive of her own.

Austin Stowell is brilliant as Richie Conrad as a wealthy man who is destined to take over his father’s business as he is someone that is also controlling while he has own reasons in wanting to marry Hunter. Finally, there’s Haley Bennett in a phenomenal performance as Hunter as this young woman from a poor background who marries this man thinking she’s got it made only to feel lost and suffocated in her new life. There is an element of restraint in Bennett’s performance as this woman that has no clue on the role she should play as her act of swallowing inedible objects is defiant as it play into the horrors of the role she is meant to play as it is a career-defining performance for Bennett.

Swallow is an incredible film from Carlo Mirabella-Davis that features a great leading performance from Haley Bennett. Along with its supporting cast, striking visuals, an unsettling tone, an offbeat music soundtrack, and its themes of identity and isolation. It is a psychological drama that doesn’t play by the rules as it explore a woman coping with her new life and how it leads to self-destruction along with revelations about the role she is meant to play for others. In the end, Swallow is a phenomenal film from Carlo Mirabella-Davis.

© thevoid99 2021

In the Loop

Based on the British TV show The Thick of It, In the Loop is the story of a British government official who makes an offhand comment on TV as things go out of control as both American and British government officials try to sort things out as they’re on the verge of a war with the Middle East. Directed by Armando Iannucci and written by Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, and Tony Roche with additional material from Ian Martin. The film is a black-comedy satire that explores the backstage world of politics as people try to prevent or start a war. Starring Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, Mimi Kennedy, Anna Chlumsky, Chris Addison, Steve Coogan, David Rasche, and James Gandolfini. In the Loop is a whimsical yet very witty political comedy from Armando Iannucci.

After an interview with International Development minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) for the BBC goes bad due to comments made by Foster. Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), the director of communications for the prime minister, goes on damage control over Foster’s comments as he confronts Foster and communications director Judy Molloy (Gina McKee) over what happened. With Foster’s comments getting into more trouble about a possible war happening, it only worsens when U.S. officials led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomacy officer Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy) visits where Foster attends the meeting and becomes mocked.

Tucker sends Foster and his new assistant Toby (Chris Addison) to Washington D.C. to meet up with Clark and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Policy official Linton Barwick (David Rasche) for a meeting with war council that’s to include Lt. General Miller (James Gandolfini). Foster and Toby deal with Clark and her assistant Liza Weld (Anna Chlumsky) as Clark wants Liza to get some information from Toby whom they had known each other since college. After a meeting with the war council where Foster ends up looking more like a fool and information is leaked to the press. With Foster and Toby working for a local constituent building where they deal with a local (Steve Coogan), Toby gets himself into trouble while Foster’s shenanigans has his being mocked by the press.

With Tucker sending Foster and Toby back to the U.S. where they’re to travel to New York City for a United Nations meeting, Tucker and Molloy join them while Tucker sends Senior Press Officer Jamie MacDonald to find out who sent out the leak. The brash MacDonald confronts Diplomacy Director of Foreign Office official Michael Rodgers (James Smith) and Rodgers’ secretary Suzy (Olivia Poulet) about the leak while Foster makes a decision about his political career. In the U.N., more complications arose as Foster becomes aware of what he’s been doing while Tucker would make moves that would help save face for the British government.

The film is a satire on political strategy that involves the mistake of an official’s comment leading to problems between U.S. and British relations as they all try to smooth things out. In a game of manipulative politics, a communications director gets this official in the U.S. along with an assistant where they end up being played in a game of strategy where the U.S. try to be on top of things. The screenplay delves into this world where everyone in the game of politics try to outdo who while using people in the process for their own gain. Throughout the film, there’s characters who clearly find out they’re being used while some are willing to be involved.

The script is also very multi-layered for the fact that there’s a lot of characters with overlapping dialogue along with back-and-forth narratives that revolve around both British and U.S. political strategies as each faction figure out what to do. With a lot of the dialogue being fast, stylized, and often crass due to the more aggressive characters in the film. It adds to who these people are as they’re doing damage control where they become very confrontational and vulgar as they’re all trying to protect their territory. Caught in the middle of this damage control is this official who finds himself becoming a pawn as he would become more confused by the world of politics.

Armando Iannucci’s direction is truly engaging to watch in the way he goes for this very offbeat, cinema verite style that has a lot of intimate moments on the conversations where the camera is always there to see what is going on. Even if it involves someone in the background watching where Iannucci knows that a character in the background is either a target or is about to do something that will shake things up. While the film is essentially a satire, Iannucci doesn’t stray into silly gags or parodies but rather go for small moments of silliness while letting the actors just go all out in the characters they play no matter how despicable or idiotic they are. Overall, Iannucci creates a truly superb and very funny film about political damage control.

Cinematographer Jamie Cairney does an excellent job with the film‘s cinematography providing differing looks to the British and American locations with the British interior and exteriors being a bit more grimy while the American set pieces having more lights to complement their personalities. Editors Ant Boys and Billy Sneddon do nice work with the editing by capturing a lot of the intensity of the conversations that goes on with some rhythmic cutting as well as straightforward cuts to play up the more intimate moments of the film. Production designer Cristina Casali, along with set decorator Clare Keyte and art director Nick Dent, does fantastic work with the set pieces such as the offices of the British officials to the more spacious offices and conferences rooms of the American officials to contrast the two differing world of politics.

Costume designer Ros Little does a terrific job with the costumes in maintaining a look for all of the characters wearing suits and all sorts of business attire while Lt. General Miller maintains a uniform to emphasize his intimidating persona. Sound supervisor Tim Alban does a fine job with the sound to capture the intimacy of some of the private conversations to the more raucous world of the board meetings and such that occur in the film. The film’s score by Adem Illhan with the Elysian Quartet is pretty good as it’s very low-key with plaintive piano pieces to more thrilling orchestral arrangements to play up the humor and more tense dramatic moments of the film.

The casting by Sarah Crowe and Meredith Tucker is brilliant for the ensemble that is created for this film. In small but notable roles, Zach Woods as brown-nosing junior staffer, Paul Higgins as the very angry Scottish official Jamie MacDonald, Olivia Poulet as Toby’s girlfriend/civil servant Suzy, James Smith as a classical-music loving diplomacy director, Alex MacQueen as the British representative for the U.N., and Steve Coogan as angry local upset over a wall that’s to collapse on his mother’s garden. Anna Chlumsky is very good as the ambitious assistant Liza whose paper about war gets her a lot of attention while David Rasche is excellent as the smarmy U.S. official Linton Barwick. Gina McKee is wonderful as a communications director who helps try to smooth things out while Mimi Kennedy is terrific as a diplomacy official who tries to use Foster for her own gain.

Chris Addison is a delight to watch as the naïve assistant who goes way over his head in trying to help out Foster only to end up being a key player to further complicate matters. James Gandolfini is great as Lt. General Miller as a man unsure of his role while not wanting to go to war as he also tries to use Foster for his own political reasons. Tom Hollander is amazing as political official Simon Foster who unknowingly creates an incident where he becomes a pawn in a political game furthering his confusion about his role in politics. Finally, there’s Peter Capaldi in a magnificent performance as the ambitious yet terrifying Malcolm Tucker who bullies his way to do damage control while always being very intimidating to officials whether its British or American.

In the Loop is an extraordinary yet humorous film from Armando Iannucci. Featuring a fantastic ensemble cast led by Peter Capaldi, it’s a film that explores the world of foreign relations with biting satire and brash humor. While it’s not an easy film to follow through in terms of its subject matter and unconventional approach to comedy. It is the kind of film that is willing to explore the fallacy of politics and do it in a very witty manner. In the end, In the Loop is a masterfully-crafted comedy from Armando Iannucci.

Related: The Death of Stalin

© thevoid99 2012

Burn After Reading

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/14/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Burn After Reading tells the story of an ex-CIA analyst whose copies of personal CIA files on a CD were taken by his wife that was suddenly found at a workout gym by two employees who try to blackmail the CIA analyst. Meanwhile, the man's wife is having an affair with a government agent who also dates one of the workout gyms' employees. A film about espionage and stupidity, the film explores blackmail in all of it shenanigans as the Coen Brothers return to their unique take on comedy. Starring Coen Brother regulars Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Richard Jenkins, and J.K. Simmons along with John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, David Rasche, Elizabeth Marvel, and Brad Pitt. Burn After Reading is a funny, entertaining film from the Coen Brothers that unfortunately, doesn't live up to their earlier work.

Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) had just quit the CIA after being demoted for his drinking. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is having an affair with a Treasury agent named Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), who is married to a children's author named Sandy (Elizabeth Marvel). With Cox having problems and Katie hoping to divorce him, she copies personal files on a CD to give her lawyer (J. R. Horne) for the divorce plans. Instead, the CD was found at a gym where one of its employees named Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) discovers CIA files. His friend Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) devises a plan to return the CD to Cox with money that she needs for plastic surgery as she is currently on the Internet dating scene.

After a failed meeting with Cox over the CD-money exchange, Chad and Linda turn to a Russian government official (Olek Krupa) to look over the CD to see if there's anything to get. Linda finds herself getting a date with Harry as the two have a good time while Harry is having flings with all sorts of women. Harry however, is aware that he's being followed by agents or whoever. Chad meanwhile, decides to find more about Cox in hopes to get bigger money yet something goes wrong. Harry's life starts to unravel as does his relationship with Katie. With Linda desperate for the money, her boss Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins) is trying to get her out of this espionage thing. Yet, with Harry becoming paranoid and Osbourne Cox becoming angrier and unpredictable, two CIA officers (David Rasche and J.K. Simmons) try to figure it all out.

What the Coen Brothers try to do with this film is to put people in situations where things begin to unravel. Yet, what happens when an idiot finds personal CIA files on a CD with an accomplice and tries to get a big pay off? Well, a lot can happen if the story had focused on that. Instead, the Coen Brothers create a story that is a bit flat and wildly uneven. While some of the humor the Coen Brothers create is definitely funny and spot on yet the story is at times, unfocused. Plus some of the dialogue that characters like Cox, his wife, and Harry is a bit off. Especially if Cox and his wife say a lot of profanity. Now, profanity maybe okay to say for comedic use and some form of emotion. Yet, if it's done excessively but not in the right way. It becomes profane and uncalled for.

The direction of Joel and Ethan Coen does create some great compositions though at times, it seems a bit lazy. While the film is set in Washington D.C., there's not much of that location shown while a lot of the film is shot in parts of Brooklyn, NY. There's not much that's shown since the Coen Brothers are known for huge landscapes and a huge depth of field. Though their approach is more intimate with some great camera shots and scenery. The film does seem to have a hard time in what it wants to be. It wants to be a comedy, it wants to be a suspense film, or maybe a film with violence since there's bits of heavy violence that goes on. It's as if the Coen Brothers tried to cram a lot into this film and they barely succeed. The comedy for the most part is very funny which is true to their style. Still, the approach that Joel and Ethan Coen create is good but it's a let down considering the humor in some of their earlier comedies.

Taking over for their longtime cinematographer Roger Deakins, who was unavailable due to commitments to shoot Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, is reknowned Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Known for his acclaimed, dream-like, naturalistic look for the films of Alfonso Cuaron and more recently, Terrence Malick, Lubezki's camera work is good in creating nice shades for the interior settings while the exterior shots of D.C. and Brooklyn are good. It's just that with Coen Brothers and Deakins known for their wide camera shots and Lubezki, who has a similar approach, isn't given much to do. It may look good and create a nice feel but one feels that Lubezki has done better work and kind of makes the hardcore Coen Brothers fan that Deakins shouldn't have done other projects. The Coen Brothers in their Roderick Jaynes alias do some nice work with the editing though the pacing at time tends to drag in some spots while it's rhythm does run smoothly but is often a bit disjointed.

Production designer John Gonchor with longtime set decorator Nancy Haigh and art director David Swayze do a fine job with the look of Osbourne Cox's boat, the Cox home, and a special chair that Harry has created. The Coen Brothers' longtime costume designer Mary Zophres does an excellent job with the costumes that includes the gym uniforms, suits, and dresses for the characters. Longtime sound editor Skip Lievsay and sound designer Craig Berkey do some excellent work with the film's sound mixing and editing that includes sounds of guns, tire squeals, and everything else to capture the film's humor and action. Longtime music composer Carter Burwell brings a nice, percussive-driven score to underscore the film's suspenseful tension and drama.

The cast, assembled by their longtime casting director Ellen Chenowith, is great as it features a cameo from Dermont Mulroney in as a character from a movie-within-a movie that also stars Claire Danes. Other small appearances from Raul Aranas as a gym employee, Jeffrey DeMunn as Linda's cosmetic surgeon, Kevin Sussman and J.R. Horne (who was also in O Brother, Where Art Thou?) as a couple of lawyers are good as they each stand out. Elizabeth Marvel is also good as Harry's wife who doesn't seem to like Katie Cox very much while having a secret of her own. Olek Krupa is excellent as a Russian government official who is intrigued by the files while having a couple funny lines about the content. David Rasche and J.K. Simmons are great as the CIA officials who try to piece up everything that goes in the film as their scenes and dialogue together are some of the film's best highlights. Richard Jenkins is also great as Ted Treffon, the gym manager who pines for Linda and tries to express his feelings only to do so at the wrong time.

Tilda Swinton's performance as the cold, icy Katie Cox is underwritten as Swinton is given really not much to do but act bitchy, be very cold, uncaring, and just stuck-up as Harry's wife says. It's a shame since Swinton isn't given the chance to say something funny or do something funny either as she can be. John Malkovich does get to have some funny moments and one liners as the very angry Osbourne Cox. Yet, scenes where's cursing repeatedly comes off as over-the-top and a bit excessive where his character becomes a caricature as Malkovich is reduced to look silly at times. George Clooney gives a good performance though his character doesn't have much to do either but sleep with women, exercise, build things, and get paranoid. Clooney's performance in the third act following an incident doesn't really work as he tries to be dramatic and it doesn't click with the rest of the film.

France McDormand is excellent, as usual, as Linda Litzke, a superficial woman who feels its time to get plastic surgery and try to go dating while leading the blackmail scheme against Cox. McDormand's performance is one of the highlights as her character tries to remain optimistic and has a clear goal in what she wants. The film's most zaniest and most enjoyable performance goes to Brad Pitt as Chad Feldheimer. Pitt definitely sells the idiocy of this character with a goofy hairdo, a silly smile, and movements to the iPod. Pitt's performance is always welcome and engaging as his character often brings a smile while his antics and shenanigans just keeps on bringing laughs. It's definitely one of Pitt's best performances in his career that as of recently, has been more challenging and taking on very different roles.

While Burn After Reading maybe slightly better than the Coen Brothers' previous comedies of Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, fans expecting a superb comedy might be feeling somewhat disappointed. Despite top-notch work from Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand along with a slew of actors in smaller roles, Burn After Reading does succeed in bringing out its entertainment factor and humor. Yet, fans of Joel and Ethan Coen might feel like they've been let down a bit as their expectations are often high. Especially in comparison to the Brothers' other comedies like Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? In the end, Burn After Reading is a good entertaining film from the Coen Brothers but considering their prolific film history, it could've been much better.

Coen Brothers Films: Blood Simple - Raising Arizona - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - The Hudsucker Proxy - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Man Who Wasn't There - Intolerable Cruelty - The Ladykillers (2004 film) - Paris Je T'aime-Tuileries - To Each His Own Cinema-World Cinema - No Country for Old Men - A Serious Man - True Grit (2010 film) - Inside Llewyn Davis - Hail, Caesar! - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers Pt. 1 - The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers Pt. 2

(C) thevoid99 2012

United 93

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/18/07 w/ Extensive Revisions.

The morning of September 11, 2001 seemed like any other normal morning until around 9 AM when suddenly, an airliner hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Then minutes later, a second plane hit the other tower were immediately, the entire world had changed completely. More minutes later, another plane had hit a part of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. It was around this time, a fourth plane was hijacked but unlike the three other planes, its intended target was at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Yet, what the terrorists in that plane didn't realize is that the passengers in that plane fought them and made the plane crash near a town in Pennsylvania. The plane of Flight United 93 were despite its tragedy proved to be a tale of courage in the wake of the 9/11 world.

Nearly five years after the tragedy of 9/11, two films about that flight were released. One was made-for-TV with some noted TV actors while another was released in theaters in an unconventional approach. Entitled United 93, the film tells the story of the day that changed the world as a group of passengers were hijacked by terrorists in a plane as they become aware that they're part of a new, dark world. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, whose previous credits include Bloody Sunday and The Bourne Supremacy. United 93 features a cast of unknowns in this harrowing tale of what happened on that fateful morning that changed the world.

A group of Islamic Arabs pray in the late morning as they're set to go an airport in Newwark, New Jersey planning an attack. It's morning as crews talk to each other while lead pilot Jason Dahl (J.J. Johnson) is talking to his co-pilot who checks for gas on the plane. Meanwhile at the FAA headquarters in Virgnia, new FAA chief Ben Sliney (played by himself) is checking on what is going on for the day as it seems to be another typical day. Yet, an air-traffic controller from Boston notices that American Flight 11 from that city is going off course from its destination realizing something is wrong after trying to communicate with the plane only to hear something happening in New York. Back in Newark, passengers board United 93 as they set to go to Los Angeles where following its departure, the control tower sees one of the towers of the World Trade Center smoking in the air.

When the FAA learns that American Flight 11 is missing, they see the image of the one of the World Trade Centers towers filled with smoke on a huge screen while NORAD learns that United Airlines Flight 175 and American Flight 77 are both going off course. When the second WTC tower is hit, panic ensues as Sliney takes control while NORAD tries to contact the president. Back in United 93, things seem to go well until the terrorists take over as two pilots and a stewardess are killed as one of the hijackers take over the plane going to Washington, D.C. to hit the Capitol. With news that a third plane has hit the Pentagon, Sliney makes the ultimate decision as to shut down all U.S. airspace and international flights to the U.S. Realizing what's going on, the passengers of United 93 contact their loved ones as they decide to fight back against the terrorists.

While it's a largely fictional account of what happened in that plane on that tragic day, Paul Greengrass creates a film where it relies on the imagination of the audience on what might've happened on that day. While there's not much of a plot and part of the film, particularly on the plane and typical conversations were improvised. Greengrass does create an intensity and momentum that is horrifying to watch knowing that the audience is aware of what's going on and what is going to happen. In many respects, it's Greengrass' direction and his approach to the film that really makes it engaging yet uncomfortable to watch.

Since the film features many non-professional/professional actors including Gregg Henry and David Rasche in small parts plus people like Ben Sliney playing themselves. The performances of this cast is truly amazing with Sliney being singled out for playing himself in what would be the same way he probably reacted on that day. Yet, the confusion and panic of what's going on in the traffic controls in New York, Boston, and Cleveland are understandable as well as everything in the FAA. Then, there's all the scenes on the plane where part of it is scripted including the famous tag line "Let's roll". It's in the sequences on that flight where the performances of the passengers and hijackers are wonderfully handled while the hijackers are given with some realism and not as caricature villains. It's all done naturally, especially through Greengrass' direction as he takes a cinema verite approach of hand-held cameras and very documentary-like. It's by far some of the strongest and most unique directing in any film.

Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd does some wonderful, documentary-like cinematography without any kind of flashy camerawork or something that is breathtaking. Instead, Ackroyd brings a realism and intimacy to the film's look. Editors Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson, and Christopher Rouse do amazing work in giving the film a pacing that feels realistic to the tension that goes on as well as the intensity in the sequences of the FAA, the air-traffic control centers, and the sequences in the plane.

Production designer Dominic Watkins and art directors Romek Delmata and Joanna Foley do great in re-creating the look of the plane as well as the air-traffic control, NORAD, and FAA rooms. Costume designer Dinah Collin does excellent in the costumes of what the passengers could've wore as well as the clothes that everyone else was working. Sound editors Eddy Joseph and Oliver Tarney do excellent work in some of the sound work, especially in a few sequences in trying to figure out the suspicion of what the hijackers in the other plane was saying. Music composer John Powell brings a plaintive, brooding score that plays to the film’s suspense and melancholia where it's not overdone and is the right tone for accompanying what's to come.

While it's understandable that audiences won't see this or Oliver Stone's World Trade Center due to its subject matter and nature. Still, United 93 is a compelling, harrowing film about what happened on that day when a group of passengers chose to fight back despite their tragedy. Yet, the film wisely doesn't glorify or show things that are to happen while it's a lot of credit given to Paul Greengrass for his approach and wanting to portray things realistically and pay tribute to those who died on that day. For someone who wants an idea of what happened in that play knowing that they will be extremely uncomfortable yet wants to know something. United 93 is the film to go see.

Paul Greengrass Films: (Resurrected) - (The One That Got Away) - (The Theory of Flight) - (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence) - Bloody Sunday - (The Bourne Supremacy) - (The Bourne Ultimatum) - (Green Zone) - Captain Phillips

(C) thevoid99 2011