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January 03, 2006
Paul Greengrass: New Year, New Bullshit
As noted here last summer, director Paul Greengrass had done some deep, deep thinking before deciding to shoot his thriller-drama Flight 93--a real-time reconstruction of the struggle that doomed that hijacked flight's passengers and crew on Sept. 11, 2001. And after all my work to repress the reality that Greengrass was actually making this film, The New York Times reported Sunday that not only is Flight 93 in production, but Greengrass is still working the "pretentious asshole" angle somewhat relentlessly:
"Forty ordinary people had 30 minutes to confront the reality of the way that we're living now, decide on the best course of action and act," he said. The passengers were the "first people to inhabit the post 9/11 world," he continued. "They had to choose because they were in that airplane. Their choices are our choices, and their debate is our debate."
Look, I was not there, and I would hate to take Greengrass too literally, but come on: Can somebody in the Universal publicity apparatus please stop this guy from weaving abstractions like "post 9/11 world" into the events that brought down Flight 93? I mean, it was bad enough when the president co-opted "Let's roll" for political ends, and now we have a filmmaker--Paul Greengrass, no less--telling us we share "choices" and a "debate" with 40 people who knowingly sacrificed themselves that morning. I have to assume that Greengrass's intentions are better than equating the dynamics on a hijacked plane to, say, the moral calculus of the War on Terror, but this is the second time that reading about Flight 93 has made me want to reach into the newspaper and slap him.
Hell, maybe I have it all wrong--after all, producer Louis Levin tells The Times that shooting in lengthy takes is "like asking actors to perform the end of Long Day's Journey Into Night, over and over again." So even if the Big Idea implodes at the end of it all, at least we have Big Drama to carry the gimmick into wide release. I, for one, can hardly wait.
Posted by stvanairsdale at January 3, 2006 08:02 AM
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Comments
My name is Jillian Romero and I have something to say about this.
I am a 23 year old college senior at the University of Texas Pan-American in Edinburg, Texas. When I woke up this morning to get ready for class I turned the TV on and saw the trailer for United 93, I immediately broke down in tears. It hasn't even been 5 years and Mr. Greengrass has already made a movie about this tragic occurence; this is preposterous.
I wasn't there when it happened but I, as an American, find this movie to be offensive and extremely distasteful.
Paul Greengrass says that he didn't make this movie until he got the approval of every victim's family but I sincerely doubt they all would have approved.
And what about the rest of the public; do you honestly think we weren't affected by this at least indirectly?
This movie is like pouring salt on an open wound, Greengrass should have known better, him being a big shot director and all. This whole thing is about money not paying respect to those victims. This infuriates me and I want this movie stopped.
I understand that this event is an important part of our history and should be documented, but the movie shouldn't be shown now, wait until the tenth anniversary and America might be ready.
Posted by: Jillian Romero at April 21, 2006 03:56 PM
I, for one, debated whether to go to this film, as it might be "too soon." I left, not feeling I had seen a movie, rather that I had shared an amazing experience with some American warriors.
Posted by: Judy Steele at May 1, 2006 05:56 PM