Gritty Filmmaking At Its Finest (But Needed That "Human Touch" To Truly Be Great)

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2017)

For what it is, "Zero Dark Thirty" is a solid recap of the events that ultimately led to the death of Osama Bin Laden. However, the story is told in such a clinical tone that it fails to be a true classic.
For a basic plot summary, this movie begins shortly after 9/11, when Maya (Jessica Chastain), a government agent, is put on the Bin Laden hunt. After briefly teaming with interrogator Dan (Jason Clarke), Maya branches out on her own and begins an almost decade-long hunt for the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. The movie culminates with the raid on the compound in which Bin Laden was hiding.
There are indeed many "positive" experiences to take from this movie. It isn't over-the-top, which can always be a bit of a concern when dealing with such "real" topics, and I believe it strives to portray the events as close as possible to how they actually occurred. As such, there are controversial scenes of torture, as well as an incredibly suspense final campaign to root out Bin Laden from his fortress-like compound. It is just a very gritty film very similar to director Kathryn Bigelow's earlier work "The Hurt Locker".
However, this film is severely missing the "human touch" that any film needs in order to truly be great. This is a very clinical, stoic re-telling of the hunt for Bin Laden, almost completely devoid of any derived dramatic component. While, like I said earlier, this is usually a positive trait in films, this time I believe it was taken a bit too far. In order for me to truly rank a film at the top of the heap, I need to be able to emotionally identify with the characters and their circumstances. In this case, that just didn't happen, and as such I dock it one star.
Overall, though, "Zero Dark Thirty" is a taut, intense tale of great historical significance. Though missing some key emotional components, I have to give credit to Bigelow for tackling such tough issues and still managing to produce a viable film that isn't hackneyed or pandering to politics.