Bigelow in the creation of a new genre.

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2012)

The first thing I want to say about this film is related to the power of women in the 21st century. Not only the film follows a strong, brave and extremely persevering woman wanting to be heard, but the brilliant, bold and daring Kathryn Bigelow who directs the film. These two women put together one of the most desirable scripts out there in Hollywood, having in commercial plot that features theories from 9/11 and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, but it also focuses on the life and psychological mindset of the person behind the planning of a risky and pretty frightening operation that changed the world. Yes, "Zero Dark Thirty" is raw in its essence and sometimes hard to watch, but it touches and sticks with you, deeply. This is not a simple political attempt to show events or inform people about an event in a nation's history, and although it sometimes feels like the way a documentary is shot due to the work by Greig Fraser, the cinematographer, "Zero Dark Thirty" is a powerful tale of a woman who knows her work and trusts her research and is sure about her vision, and it is far from being or attempting to be only an informative film. We follow a historic event through the eyes of a woman who seems shy and passive in the beginning, being overshadowed by her male colleagues, but that ends up ripping everybody's theories apart, and gaining the trust of her boss first, for then even screaming and cursing to the man in command of the CIA, only before he presents her idea to the President of the United States of America. "I'm the one who found this place, sir", says Chastain to the man in command of the CIA referring to the house where Bin Laden is. Mark Boal who wrote the script and collaborated before with Bigelow in "The Hurt Locker", does an extraordinary job in taking us through this journey without it ever feeling long or overwhelming. The film moves quick and precise, and it tells us what we need to know, nothing less or nothing more. I've watched the film twice and I still ask myself: How do you start writing a script like this? There are 10 years to cover and 2 hours of footage, having in mind the last part of focused on the detailed operation to get the target. It is unbelievable for me to make a film like this work so effectively like "Zero Dark Thirty" does. So many people, theories, stories, names, locations, details. The Afghanistan American camps, the offices, the helicopters, the people and extras that are constantly around, the CIA rules and regulations, the language, the equipment. I mean, the amount of research and dedication to this project is mind-blowing. And the result is a clear understanding of the events and a highly entertaining film that could mean the start of the new blockbuster, where you have a commercial, appealing film, in the context of it being exceptionally well crafted. ​ This time, Boal deals with a globally controversial story that has many sides and personal truths, and he has the responsibility of sharing only one vision of the story with the world, including the Muslim population. The security in the theater was pretty crazy and I think the whole paraphernalia around the subject matter was part of the impact the film had on me, but that didn't separated me from analyzing the script and noticing its many levels and dimensions in terms of character writing and craft. Each person working in the operation has an important tale in the film and they all attribute important sides to the main quest, mainly followed by Jessica Chastain's character. Her CIA girlfriend who gives up her life, her boss, the American soldiers, all the incarcerated terrorists and suspects she interviews, they all are solid characters with very clear roles in the film, and they all contribute to making it not about a difficult story to understand, but a human journey based on people involved in a tragic war that has terrible consequences. ​ I love that the film is not only about the killing of Osama Bin Laden, but ultimately our desire as humans, to protect our lives, our friends, our country. Jessica Chastain's performance intensifies that slow discovery of personality of this character who appears fragile but is stronger than expected. This is a side to Mrs. Chastain that we haven't seen and very different from her work in "The Help" or "The Tree of life". It really shows her diversity and drive to create and build interesting characters that are risky and that have captivating and really fascinating minds. ﻿ "Zero Dark Thirty" by Kathryn Bigelow is a detailed and exceptionally crafted journey of discovery and tension. It highlights our sense of intrigue and indecision in problems that affects us all, and makes us feel grief for the bizarre way in which we, humans, act sometimes. I never thought it was possible to show all of these in a film, or maybe I simply don't have the nerve to deal with such delicate issues. This is one of the best films I've seen this year and puts Kathryn Bigelow in my list of filmmakers to study and from those who I impatiently wait to see the work they give us.