22 July: Lacklustre Tragedy Porn

Paul Greengrass, director of United 93, Captain Phillips and three of the four Bourne films, has come to be revered as a filmmaker with the ability to transfix audiences through conveying shear emotion and realism, especially in his non-fiction films. With his most recent directorial project, 22 July, we follow the events of 2011 Norway Attacks and its aftermath including the trial of the man responsible.

22 July is, in essence, a very similar film to United 93 (2006). United 93 followed the 9/11 attacks, in particularly through following the ill-fated United Airlines Flight 93 – one of the four planes hijacked that day. United 93 was (and is) a profound and moving experience that captured a truly heart-wrenching tragedy, this was partially due to several methods Greengrass utilised to make the film seem all the more real. Firstly, unlike other depictions of the attacks, Greengrass cast a group of unknown actors to depict real life victims. 2006 also saw the release of another 9/11 biographic called ‘World Trade Center’, however the latter was less effective due to the fact that it laden with a star-studded cast and flashy effects which voided such a picture of any emotional substance. United 93, in attempt to capture realism, utilised shaky and handheld cameras to portray the film as more of a documentary, real dialogue taken from recorded phone calls and flight recordings as well as the fact that the film only depicted the events of the attack. By the end of United 93 I, along with many others who watched this film, was left sobbing. The film felt so real and so profound, it was a truly respectful portrayal of a terror attack and, I believe, was done without an ounce of commercial greed that comes with the usual Hollywood aggrandizement of tragic events.

22 July utilises much of same from United 93: shaky-cam, monotonous colouring and an unknown cast. Yet, as a film it really failed to strike an emotional chord with me in the same way that United 93 had. I still recommend this film, it was well acted, factual and very interesting to delve deeper into a very uniquely sinister attack. But unlike Greengrass’ last dabble with a non-fictional portrayal of a terrorist incident, 22 July only spends the first 30 minutes on the initial attack, with the remaining two concentrating on the aftermath for the victims, attacker and the trial that takes place. The likes of which provides a good look on how tragedies affect those involve, exploring PTSD, rehabilitation and recovery.

22 July is a decently made, well paced and okay film, however when one compares it to the likes of Greengrass’ previous works it is a rather lacklustre experience. It’s not a really thought provoking film, despite opportunities to explore moral dilemmas with the event (such as the fact that Norway’s maximum prison sentence can only be 21 years, which was left unmentioned in the film) and, overall, is a somewhat forgettable experience.

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