Zero Dark Thirty - Review

Zero Dark Thirty is a film to which I can't imagine anyone having a particularly neutral opinion. This kind of film is the exact definition of a love it or hate it experience, or at the very least would evoke pretty strong reactions. When it was announced that director Kathryn Bigelow would be following "The Hurt Locker," her Oscar-winning film from 2009, with a thriller/drama about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, I'll admit that was intrigued. I wouldn't say I was "excited" for it though, since usually for these kinds of films I like to stay somewhat on the fence until I actually see them. That said, the idea behind the film was very interesting, a film exploring themes of politics, terrorism, warfare, set against the backdrop of America's long running manhunt could be a very provocative picture. The project suddenly became all the more interesting when bin Laden was actually killed by US forces in 2011. Still, this kind of film could have easily gone south in heartbeat if the filmmaker wasn't up to the task. Don't get me wrong, The Hurt Locker was great, but aside from that, Bigelow hadn't really stepped up a true master of the craft yet. Before Hurt Locker, she established herself as a talented and proficient action film director but definitely nothing amazing (this is the director of Point Break after all). So after that... how did Zero Dark Thirty turn out?

As mentioned above, Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the United States efforts to find and take down the Al Qaeda terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden. Most of the story is told through the eyes of Maya (Jessica Chastain), a young CIA operative who has dedicated her brief time with the agency in the futile pursuit of finding bin Laden after 9/11. She follows every lead, looks into every clue, and acts on nearly every possibility (no matter slim) hoping that whatever she finds will be the key needed to unlocking the secrets of bin Laden's whereabouts. As the hunt becomes increasingly more hopeless, Maya becomes more emotionally damaged, reluctantly observing and allowing extreme tactics, including prisoner torture, to achieve her goal. After 10 years, her findings lead her to a house in Pakistan... and the rest is, how you say, history.

I'm going to start this review with a couple of disclaimers. For starters, while I won't outright spoil anything, I might divulge a few more bits of pieces of the film's ending and plot elements than I normally do. If you've turned on the news in the last 10 years, few of the film's story elements will be all that surprising, but if you hate spoilers as much as I do, there's your warning. Secondly, throughout the review, I will be addressing some of the controversy surrounding the flick, namely Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of torture. I don't want to make this review a political discussion or a debate, so I'm not going to offer my own personal views on such subjects but in order to properly review the movie, I will have to discuss them a bit. If you would like to leave a comment regarding the political or moral undertones surrounding the flick, I won't stop you, but let's not make this flame war or heated debate. With all that out of the way... let's get to the review.

Zero Dark Thirty is not an uplifting movie, in fact it's the very opposite. It's kind of interesting to compare and contrast the timeline of American made war movies. It seems like most can be lumped into one of two categories. There's the "America, Fuck Yeah!" variety (Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor) and "War Is Hell" (Platoon, Apocalypse Now). Zero Dark Thirty leans a bit more toward the second category, but includes bits and pieces of both... without taking too many sides. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this movie could have easily become a cut-rate US propaganda film or a statement of self-indulgent patriotism. Instead, the film is a compelling character study and analysis of politics, terrorism, and warfare that presents facts (well, "facts" in the sense of the information that has been released) and basically allows you to interpret what you see how you like. As mentioned, the hot button topic surrounding the movie was the film's depiction of torture. Early in the movie, Maya accompanies a fellow officer in Pakistan, and observes his interrogation of a detainee with suspected links to Al Qaeda. The interrogation consists of numerous forms of torture, including methods of a physical, mental, and emotional nature. On the other hand, it also depicts non-torturous methods of coercion, and the results that come with those. Which methods are more effective... well, to be honest, both and neither, at least according to the movie. I suppose it leans a little more to an "anti-torture" stance, but it certainly isn't a black and white contrast. As for the rest of the movie's topics, it basically takes that same approach. In this day and age, there's rarely anything that's 100% good or bad, but instead contain varying degrees of right and wrong, with no clear answers. This all makes for a very intriguing and thought provoking movie... which, in my opinion, are the best kind.

All of this comes compliments from the combined works of director Kathryn Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal, and actress Jessica Chastain. Bigelow's history as an action director has come in handy here, staging some fantastically suspenseful action scenes and dramatic moments. The realistic tone and environments lead to some compelling drama through character interactions, a relentless and hopeless hunt, and some truly suspenseful action scenes that avoid the typical Hollywood excess. The finale, where the Navy Seals raid bin Laden's compound, is one hell of a nail-biter, even though you know exactly how it's going to end. That's just a testament to Bigelow's skills, whom I'm just about ready to call one of the best filmmakers of this generation (time will tell I suppose on that one). I already discussed many elements Mark Boal's script, so I discuss that much more than I already have, but I will say that it's a damn fine piece of writing. It makes some solid observations, moves at a good pace, and has some great interaction between characters. It's hard to gauge just how accurate it is (other than the fact that the character names were made up for this movie), especially since so much information regarding the investigation is still classified, so there's really no way to be sure of that quite yet. Maybe when the information is finally revealed to the public, the film can be re-evaluated. Until then, it works.

The central element the holds the movie together, has got to be Jessica Chastain's flawless performance as Maya. Chastain is quickly climbing the Hollywood ladder of super-stardom after two critically acclaimed performances last year in The Tree of Life and The Help. Her role as Maya, is hands down the best work of her's so far (that I've seen at least). Every moment she's on screen, you feel her obsessive dedication to her cause. Ultimately why Maya remains so devoted to finding Osama is the ultimate question. She's not some super patriot nor is she a crusader for good or anything like that. She remains so fiercely devoted to the crusade for reasons I don't even think she fully understands. Chastain just sells every single detail of that inner conflict as she relentlessly pursues bin Laden. I was happy to see Chastain receive another Oscar nomination this year. We'll find out in a week whether she'll be taking home Oscar gold, and I'm hoping that she will. The rest of the actors all do a fine job, I have no complaints on that front.

Zero Dark Thirty is neither an easy watch or a timid film. I can all but guarantee that everyone leaving this movie will have strong opinions on it one way or another. Still, in addition to being one of the year's best films, it's also one of the year's most important. So unless you don't think you can handle of the movie's more graphic content, I strongly recommend it.

My Score: 5 out of 5!