{"id":2444,"date":"2013-01-23T15:37:53","date_gmt":"2013-01-23T15:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2013-01-23T15:37:53","modified_gmt":"2013-01-23T15:37:53","slug":"zero-dark-thirty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/action\/zero-dark-thirty\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero Dark Thirty ****"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You don\u2019t expect anything less rigorously researched from the engaging filmmaking pair behind the 2008 hit, The Hurt Locker<\/em>, Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter\/former news journalist Mark Boal. Their latest action thriller, Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> does not fail to diligently lay out the facts like some on-the-scene reporter with \u2018access all areas\u2019 coverage.<\/p>\n

However, this no-nonsense portrayal isn\u2019t without some elements of concern in its first half. Also, while the toast of Hollywood, star Jessica Chastain puts in another career-defining performance \u2013\u00a0subsequently leading to a Best Actress nod at this year\u2019s Academy Awards, there seems to be a certain detachment felt with her character, CIA Agent Maya, as she stands by her hunch as to Osama bin Laden\u2019s whereabouts, something that was never the case with Jeremy Renner\u2019s unhinged bomb disposal expert character Sergeant First Class William James in the 2008 film.<\/p>\n

Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> \u2013 espionage code for \u2018half past midnight\u2019, the time when bin Laden met his maker \u2013\u00a0begins with the chilling voice of a victim caught in one of the towers in 9\/11, speaking to emergency services against a black screen. It then changes location to a CIA detention camp where dubious torture methods are being tested on an inmate said to help bankroll the 9\/11 attacks. All this tense activity is watched by Maya (Chastain), a new recruit to the deadly interrogation game, introduced by hardened and cynical boss Dan (Jason Clarke).<\/p>\n

The next two hours play out a series of worldwide attacks \u2013 including a re-enactment of the 7\/7 Tavistock Square bus explosion \u2013 as well as dead ends as the casualties tally up, with some close to Maya. Simultaneously, a determined Maya pursues her theory that bin Laden isn\u2019t holed up in a cave, but closer than US authorities think, while her Washington \u2018boys club\u2019 doubt her evidence but not her conviction. The end of the film is the cream on top, with a Navy SEAL night-vision raid on the compound in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Bigelow and Boal cover a lot of ground in this, taking us through the whole post-9\/11 history. It could be argued that some of this is unnecessary back story for this film, though a shocking reminder all the same. As it stands in this context, all it provides is a grim graphic timeline, with some wordy political game playing \u2013\u00a0it seems to have little direct effect on Maya\u2019s emotional state at what she is witnessing and how she thinks, considering a major part of the film is about her single quest to find bin Laden\u2019s courier and hence the terror leader\u2019s location. Still, it could be argued that it widens the whole picture to include the international impact, rather than being US-centric.<\/p>\n

The really interesting factor is how torture is used and what Bigelow\u2019s characters make of it \u2013 even though it\u2019s debatable whether methods such as waterboarding actually unveiled the detailed information needed to track those closest to bin Laden (as contested by American authorities). Clarke\u2019s input is intriguing and much needed as the emotional catalyst and benchmark with which Chastain can develop her character\u2019s responses, and without his charisma and an implied attraction shared between the pair, the film would feel very remote indeed from a human aspect.<\/p>\n

This aside, the climax of the film with the raid on the Pakistani compound, ironically a stone\u2019s throw from a Pakistani military academy is utterly exhilarating, recreating the standard chest-pumping Allied patriotism that you would expect from those fighting dirty on the ground and in the thick of it with, some fantastic directing and cinematography, repeatedly delaying the moment we are all waiting for and satisfying our curiosity as to how this is portrayed on screen. This finale alone is worth the wait, even though other straggling elements of the mission remain abandoned and unexplained after the deed.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, as an action thriller, Bigelow further shows her prowess in the business, brewing the tension and curiosity and using a female protagonist\/heroine to lead us through what is predominantly a \u2018man\u2019s world\u2019 of broken rules, promises and ugly happenings: It\u2019s just a shame we don\u2019t get more of a sense of how Maya ticks earlier. Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> is a long but respectful watch with an all-out punchy ending.<\/p>\n

4\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

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