Zero Dark Thirty

Sometimes in the evolution of a director’s career it seems that one film acts as a résumé builder to land a more prestigious film in a similar genre. For example, Joss Whedon landed The Avengers years after he proved his sci-fi prowess with Serenity. Well Kathryn Bigelow’s warm up was the modern war drama The Hurt Locker, which happened to win Oscars for best picture and best director. The follow-up, one of the biggest news stories of the 21st century, the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. In Zero Dark Thirty, named for the military designation for 12:30 AM, Jessica Chastain stars as a fast rising CIA agent pursuing Bin Laden during a decade long manhunt. Showing the pressure to pursue such a large target while attempting to thwart additional terrorist attacks gives the audience some perspective on what really goes on behind the scenes with US federal agents.

The movie is clearly not a shot for shot adaptation of reality however. Bigelow and writer Mark Boal have done their research and blended actual developments with dramatic effect. Unless you join the CIA or become a Navy Seal this is probably the closest you’re going to get to how things really went down. Chastain is near flawless in her lead performance. Combining confidence, vulnerability and a social awkwardness that fits so perfectly with a character in her position, it’s impressive that one film could showcase such range. At times I couldn’t help but wonder if she was losing her touch with dialogue that sounds like she is just reading back her lines, but that’s the point. She’s talking to superiors who have the potential to take her off the job at any second. It’s supposed to sound rehearsed.

The manhunt scenes, which mainly consist of Chastain talking to other agents is as mesmerizing as when Seal Team Six storms the compound. The movie runs long, which is appropriate to get a sense of the magnitude of the plot. Visually appealing and structurally sound, Zero Dark Thirty is an accomplishment in modern film-making. Even if only half of the events on screen are true, millions of people were invested in the hunt for Bin Laden and the film is a chance to gain some closure. Culturally, it’s a very important film and will stay with you days after viewing.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.