A Great Film For Our Times

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2013)

As the hunt for Osama bin Laden wore on President George W Bush was prompted in frustration to say that he didn't know where bin Laden was and he didn't give him much thought anymore. Far from Washington press conferences CIA agents were still thinking about the al Qaeda leader and engaged in the day to day drudgery that dominates intelligence work. ZERO DARK THIRTY is the story of one such agent, Maya (Jessica Chastain)a woman of dogged determination who's prone to butt heads with higher-ups inclined to weigh the politics of every decision. When we first see Maya she is functioning within an interrogation unit trying to extract information from suspected terrorists. These scenes shot in Jordanian prisons are intensely realistic and the source of most of the criticism the film has received. Director Kathryn Bigelow is not an advocate for torture. She is simply painting the picture as it occurred. Her approach is documentarian and she and screenwriter Mark Boal meticulously and clinically depict the events of one of history's greatest manhunts. Chastain exhibits great strength and vulnerability in her role. She is a warrior on the front lines in this 21st century war. Political and ethical questions are for another day, her task is clear. I love the way ZERO DARK THIRTY doesn't' try to be Rambo, in fact it's the anti-Rambo which may be disturbing to moviegoers who want to see some heroic national crusade portrayed gloriously with all flags flying. There's a sadness here, a sense that we have made a trade-off one which diminishes us all. As a movie Bigelow, Boal and Chastain have created an unceasingly suspenseful film as historical document which held me in its grip.