‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is the highly controversial film about the tracking and killing of Osama Bin Laden. After viewing this film, i felt many of the partisan fears (or hopes for that matter) were unfounded. I intensely dislike films with a political agenda (especially ones that claim to be ‘based on a true story’). This applies to both Right and Left ideologies. When films become propaganda, it detracts from the artistic value of what we are experiencing. Unfortunately, we all see the world through our own subjective prisms. That being said, I approached this film with much skepticism. While there are definitely some political jabs thrown, they are mild and don’t detract from the overall storyline. I was also skeptical as I thought director Kathryn Bigelow’s last film; ‘The Hurt Locker’ was overhyped and did not deserve the Oscar that year. With all that baggage on my shoulders as I walked into the theater, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the film.
Kathryn Bigelow does a more than admirable job in laying out a complex story of our post-Sept 11 world and the hunt for Bin Laden. The film opens with a black screen and a sobering audio montage of actual 911 calls from people trapped inside the Twin Towers. This sets up the film’s resolve and reignites any dormant anger in the audience that may have cooled with time. The story centers around CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain), who is brought onto the team to help find Bin Laden. Her first experience on the team is being part of an equally sobering scene of torturing a terror suspect for information. The scenes are difficult to watch, but Maya puts aside her sensibilities as she convinces herself the ends justify the means. This is where I think Bigelow was particularly effective as she was not one-sided in her portrayals. She did not vilify anyone as we understood from each character why they do what they do. Particularly effective was how being a torturer affected the interrogator himself. It’s easy to condemn or even support ‘coercive interrogation’, but Bigelow doesn’t let anyone off easy no matter which perspective they choose.
The film spans Maya’s single-minded hunt for Osama Bin Laden over the course of 10 years. It paints a picture of connection among all the attacks since Sept 11, from the London subway bombings to the Marriott bombing in Mumbai. It had a flow of a ‘Law and Order’ episode, with the often ignored Maya at the center trying to piece it all together. I found the scope of the search to be interesting as well. Most of us probably have visions of vast complexes with endless cubicles of technicians scouring the globe tracking down every minute clue. However, one of the early scenes was Maya sitting around a conference table with about a dozen of her fellow agents and the bureau Chief saying in frustration that they shouldn’t think there is anyone else coming to help because everyone at the table was the entire team the US has looking for Bin Laden. And they were failing.
No matter how cold the trail grew, Maya kept at the job with a persistence that caused her superiors to question her objectivity. It is fascinating how eventually finding Bin Laden had as much to do with luck as it did with persistence. A small trace on a phone of a courier’s mother who was remotely connected to Bin Laden was what it took. Even with concrete information, it still takes Maya’s total conviction and confidence to persuade her gun shy superiors. Maya travels to Afghanistan to coordinate the mission of the now famous ‘Seal Team Six’. If Maya had her way, she would have preferred a bomb strike, but the government wanted absolute proof they killed Bin Laden and that means they needed a body.
The last portion of the film is a POV view of the raid of the Bin Laden compound. This part was the most intriguing as it is always amazing how professional and methodical true military operations are. It is very different than the Rambo style fighting we see in most films. The tension is excruciating in it’s calmness, even though we all know the outcome. In some ways, I found it a more thrilling than the typical steroid pumped blow-them-up action scenes that you see in most ‘war’ films. The camera doesn’t try to sanitize the violence, nor does it try to exaggerate it for the sake of effect. The tension rises as we have no idea what lies around each corner or where Bin Laden actually is.
No matter what your political views, I feel this film can be appreciated by all. It is a patriotic film, but also challenges us to question what type of nation we have become. Belief systems are important, but do they sometimes blind us to reality? If we seek to vilify our CIA operatives who aggressively gather information, do you discount the countless lives they have saved as a result of this information? If we accept coercive interrogation and bribery of terrorists, do we give up a piece of our souls as a nation? Do we throw away all that we try to stand for? Is there a middle ground? The film doesn’t provide answers, it just shows that none of the answers are clear cut or easy. That’s my type of political argument.
My apologies to Kathryn Bigelow for my previous misconceptions about her abilities. This film, in my mind, shows that she is an Oscar level Director and this film would be a worthy of an Oscar. She has an artistic vision that she is able to convey at a superior level.
I give this film *** 1/2 stars
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