United 93

On September 11, 2001, I vividly recall standing in front of a television set, staring dumbfounded at CNN's live footage of the second plane crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Centre.

Confusion and horror turned into disbelief as I watched the towers suddenly collapse into dust.

Those same chilling television images, now seared into our collective consciousness, replay in Paul Greengrass's harrowing recreation of events on board the fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93.

British filmmaker Greengrass drew upon the testimonials of the victims' families - many of whom received mobile phone calls from their loved ones as the plane was hijacked at 30,000 feet.

Events unfold in real time and as Flight 93 takes off (including a final glimpse of the twin towers through a window), the first two hijacked planes are en route to Manhattan.

On Flight 93, Captain Dahl (Johnson) and First Officer Homer (Commock) receive a message: Beware Cockpit Invasion. Two Aircraft Hit Trade Centre.

But the warning comes too late and four hijackers take over the craft.

As terrified passengers learn of the horrific events taking place in New York and at the Pentagon, they realise their flight is part of a co-ordinated attack.

Greengrass shoots the hijacking, and events on the ground, on handheld cameras, with a cast of largely unknown actors.

Key military and civilian personnel, including Ben Sliney (the man in charge of the FAA's command centre), play themselves, adding to the air of realism.

Despite this, much of the film is necessarily conjecture rather than fact. As the credits roll, we are forced to question the horrific events of September 11 and the equally horrific bombings of Iraq and Afghanistan which followed them.