Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch
Directed by: Tim Fehlbaum
Rated: R
Running Time: 95 minutes
Paramount Pictures
Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars
There’s one key criticism I’ve heard about “September 5” from people who’ve seen it and people who haven’t seen it yet are hearing me describe the film, and that is that it’s ethically repulsive. I wouldn’t make that criticism, but several people have told me that the film sounds like ignorant glorification of violence. There’s actually a term for this, “media contagion.” It’s the idea that coverage of violence can beget violence. In “September 5,” an ABC sports broadcasting team, led by Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) and Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), attempt to cover the unfolding act of terrorism against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics.
Viewers are transported into the smokey ABC control room as the production crew grapples with covering the event via several cameras, witnesses and a young Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker). As a journalist and former news producer, it’s a familiar scene, not so much the smoke and ashtrays. I immediately felt immersed because of my background, which I’ve told people, implies that I’m biased towards liking this movie. The big issue is when the control room realizes that terrorists may be figuring out their next steps because of the ABC live broadcast. This is exemplified in a scene where the cameras watch the armed forces encircle the building while realizing that the terrorists inside the Olympic village are tuning in to ABC to see where those pesky snipers are. It’s something that we would all, in the 21st century, state is obvious not to do.
But that’s where I defend “September 5.” While this isn’t the first time media covered violence live, it’s easily the earliest instance of live coverage of a terror attack. The film dives into the real-time decision making over ethical dilemmas that materialized second-by-second. It’s a watershed moment in how crisis situations are handled and yet throughout the film, we see how much of its handling has become the news product we digest now. The film artfully highlights moments of brevity and times of clumsiness on the ends of these individuals handling this incident. There is no time to reflect on the decisions, the decisions are made and it’s now onto the next media quandary.
“September 5” highlights the frenetic nature of a newsroom during a crisis. It tactfully shows how good and bad decisions happen all the time, but the people know that as long as the story is still unfolding, there’s no time to reflect, redact or change what has happened. Geoffrey does most of the decision heavy lifting while Roone serves as his parachute in case those decisions aren’t ethically sound. The tight editing and brisk 94 minutes add to the palpable tension, even if you know the tragic outcome of the hostage situation.
“September 5” doesn’t look to make some grandiose stand on news media’s past, present or future. It’s a fly-on-the-wall, reminding people that journalists are just people who have elected to work in a high-stress field. It’s easy to forget in today’s digital news day that human beings are still working hard to confirm facts, chase down leads, ask the difficult questions and follow the most dangerous stories until their bitter end. Sure, my love of this film is biased, but I hope that others love it for humanizing those who are constantly demonized for covering the burning world.