The Pitch: How
does the United 93 formula work with other tragedies?
There are two
types of Paul Greengrass movies that's I'm aware of. There are the one's he's
more famous for, like his Bourne movies and Green Zone, which is
an honorary Bourne movie as far as I'm concerned. He's built his
reputation more with the other type of movies though: vérité dramas based on
real events. That includes movies like United 93, Captain Phillips,
and Bloody Sunday. 22 July is definitely in the latter category.
It most reminds me of United 93*. He is incredible at the vérité style,
making it seem like the the camera just happens to be in the room where real
things are happening. He doesn't sensationalize nor does he clean up the
violence. In these movies, violence hurts. That makes the first 30 minutes of
this movie pretty grueling.
*Bloody Sunday
might be even more similar, but I haven't see that.
I can't find a good way to say this. Everything
exciting in the movie happens early. After the terrorist attack is over, the
fallout isn't that compelling. I appreciate the control Greengrass has over the
tone and assorted stories. His vérité approach just leaves it all a little
lifeless. There are conventional stories he tries to filter through his
unconventional style that don't work. The kid who learns to walk well enough to
face the shooter in court is a compelling story, but it's less moving without
some of the normal theatrical tricks of editing and music. I'm intrigued by the
story of the lawyer who defends the shooter out of a sense of civic duty, even
though the entire country hates him for it. Not many filmmakers would decide to
use that story in this movie. I think that story works better with more of a
mono-focus on that lawyer rather than as a piece in an ensemble. I don't know
that I wanted to know the shooter any better, but it is strange to have him in
so much of the movie without ever fleshing him out. Or maybe it does flesh him
out and he really is that crazy. I'd rather not research him to find out.
I think this movie would've worked much better as a
mini-series. It's not because I think there's too much story to contain in a
single movie. It's because by making it episodic, it can shift tone more
easily. The first episode can be a tense recreation of the attack. The second
episode can be quiet and somber as the nation mourns. The third episode can be
more inspirational. Or however they want to divide it up. As is, 22 July
is more of a balancing act that it needs to be.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
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