There has been a lot of debate about whether America is ready for a 9/11 movie. Many seem to suggest the time is not right, and that the public conscious needs more time to recover from the tragedy.

This sentiment is incredibly short-sighted. The public conscious is already waist-deep in the media of 9/11, even some five years later. Turn on A&E, The History Channel or The Discovery Channel, and eventually one will be bombarded by any number of documentaries on that dark day.

So the question is not whether America is ready. The question is what makes “United 93” different from the saturated fare.

The answer is “United 93” is not a dramatization of the events of Sept. 11. Instead, “United 93” is a historical re-creation. While it’s true there are moments impossible to re-create, these fabrications remain methodically realized through director Paul Greengrass’ meticulous attention to detail. Greengrass received permission and interviews from the families of the victims of “United 93,” and through deft and terse direction, has created an emotionally-charged vision of the events.

The terrorists boarding the plane look like 20-something businessmen and college students. The film suggests a more frightening common link between all terrorists: the guise of civility. On the ground, military and airline personnel helplessly watch as airplanes disappear from their radar and turn up in smoking wreckages in New York and Washington. These moments are among the most powerful in the film, as the audience watches the reactions of staff members in control towers and military bases while the planes inevitably come down on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A powerful feeling of empathy connects the audience with the characters.

Building the tension on a radar screen, the audience is soon thrust into the frenzied violence along the aisles of United 93. The transition is shocking and abrupt as the plane turns into power-keg. Greengrass makes seamless cuts between the prayers of both terrorists and passengers with tearful phone calls to loved ones and a final urgent scramble to avoid disaster.

“United 93” is not a movie for everyone. With the emotional potency of this film, it’s simply not a movie one should force friends, family and most definitely children to watch. Many people go to the movies to escape, and while “United 93” might be many things, an escape is not one of them. Lacking the glitzy, ditsy glamour of most Hollywood productions, “United 93” possesses tear-ridden simplicity in its view on American tragedy.