Recxpectations: September 5

“September 5” (New Thing #4) takes the audience inside the control room of ABC Sports, who faces the daunting task of covering the hostage situation at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

EXPECT: A TENSE FILM, NOT A THRILLER
September 5 is compelling but because it focuses so much on the journalistic integrity angle more than the hostage situation, it’s more compelling than it is thrilling. Not to say that it doesn’t have it’s moments and still isn’t tense but I feel like people going in expecting an edge-of-your-seat thriller might be let down, especially by how much of the film is the details of the TV production.

EXPECT: STRONG, NOT SHOWY PERFORMANCES
An unrecognizable (to me, at least) Ben Chapin gets the most to work with but for the most part, everyone disappears into their roles. Well, I guess Peter Sarsgaard is Peter Sarsgaard but I feel like I always still buy him in his roles even when a lot of them are quite similar.

EXPECT: A TAUT STORY
September 5 clocks in at 95 minutes. Things get going pretty quickly and the pace is pretty steady throughout. The film opens with an explanation of the tech at work but I do wonder how younger audiences will respond given that the world has changed so much since this took place. The storyline focusing on networks sharing the live feed satellite and the crew waiting around until they can air live as opposed to not immediately jumping on the air to cover the on-going news might seem unreal given how people can stream from their phones nowadays.