Zero Dark Thrirty Film Review

Rating: 7/10 (16 October 2013)

Zero Dark Thirty is a drama about the ten year search for Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain plays the main character of Maya who is a CIA agent. Alongside her are, Joel Edgerton who plays Patrick, the lead squad man, and Jason Clarke who plays Dan and works for the government. There is no specific setting for the movie; it bounces around between Pakistan, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many more countries. The movie takes place within all of these countries starting in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. The motive is to find and capture Osama Bin Laden because he and Al-Qaeda are threats to our nation.
In the opening of the movie viewers get a glimpse of 9/11. There is a black screen and the viewer can hear actual 911 calls the day of the attack; a chilling start to a movie. From there, the viewer's get a glimpse into what detainees went through. There is a torture scene where Dan is water boarding a man in order to get him to spill information. Once the team has received tips, a few go out to meet with someone who claims will give them information. It turns out to be a suicide bombing and many of the team members die. Years later Maya catches a break by getting more information on a man who detainees say is close to Bin Laden. As they follow him they end up finding a hideaway where Bin Laden has been staying for years.
Jessica Chastain does an incredible job playing Maya. Maya is a very confident and strong woman. She is one of the only women in the movie but Chastain makes it work. Maya can seem rough because of her swearing but she is a hard working CIA agent. She is one of the few women placed on this assignment and she rocks it. Maya never gives up even when they are completely out of resources. It seems as if her co- workers are not paying attention to her and the leads she gains. It seems as if it is because she is a woman. When they follow her lead and find Bin Laden's hideaway she is ecstatic. However, they do not proceed when finding his whereabouts. This makes Maya angry so every day she writes the number of days since they have found his hiding place and they have done nothing about it. She writes the number with an Expo marker on her boss's window. Maya is not just showcasing her determination but also the determination of women. Not all women back down from a fight. Women are just as confident as men are and have the same abilities as men. Chastain does a great job of not only portraying Maya in a man's world doing a man's job but she also shows how competent women are.
The camera shots show a great deal throughout the movie. Many of the camera shots are over the shoulder shots. Some of the shots are while interviewing detainees and it makes the viewer feel as if they are the character who is interviewing the people. Whenever Maya is talking to a man it is usually a low angle shot showing that the man has power. In these shots it looks as if the man is looking down upon Maya. Close- ups were used sparingly during the movie and when they were used it was in order to convey emotion, such as the close-up of Maya's face when she sees Bin Laden is dead.
These types of movies are not my first choice. However, I took a chance and decided to watch Zero Dark Thirty. I was surprised as to how much I actually liked it. I think Chastain does such a good job that you have to finish the movie to see how she pans out because he character is so addicting. There are of course some dry parts within the movie. A lot of the detainee scenes get boring as well as the logistics. However, I also think the movie is educational. It shows us a look into our government and what goes on. It is an eye opener especially because we think us as Americans are these good people that would never torture anyone else; well, think again. With that being said, overall the movie is well worth watching even though it is two and a half hours. Just bear with the dry parts and it pays off.