Asks more questions than it answers, but a very good film.

Rating: Null/10 (17 February 2013)

After finally getting to view this film there are two things that are clear. First is that Kathryn Bigelow is a master film maker. Similar to The Hurt Locker this film will make you cringe, want to cry, and be glued to the screen waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. All of this happens in a well planned and executed picture piloted by this amazing director. You need to have a strong stomach and be able to stand a a lot of shaking camera work, but the end result is worth it.
Secondly, the two main characters (Maya and Dan) give a powerful performance together and individually. Jessica Chastain gives an amazing performance which is well deserving of the nominations she has received. I think you see this amazing transition throughout the film where she goes from a seemingly young and scared girl, to a grown woman at the controls of this incredible man hunt. There are times where she looks lost, and others were she is getting in peoples' faces so that they listen to her. She shows many sides of the character but does it in a subtle way for the most part that fits her CIA officer status. Dan, played by Jason Clarke controls the screen in the first act of the film. He character is seemingly capable of incredible cruelty and great caring between his interactions between the detainees and Maya. Clarke is completely believable in his business like approach to his work of "breaking" the detainees. Some of the first scenes are difficult to watch, but it is a testament to his acting chops.
Now for the not so clear part. As I said in my summery line the film asks a lot of questions that it doesn't answer. One of the reasons that The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty work so well is because the director combines the vivid pictures on the screen with the bigger questions that are left hanging for the audience to think about. I enjoy this style of film making and I wish that there were more "cerebral" directors out there who would allow the audience to chew on the questions posed in the movie.
One thing that I hope people remember before and after they see this film is just that; it is a film. While it is based on actual events and eye witness accounts, it is a dramatized retelling that has been modified for the medium of film. I have a limited knowledge of the middle east and modern warfare and I think I spotted a few things that probably weren't 100 percent accurate. In the end however, it really doesn't matter. If you go in expecting another "Hurt Locker" you are going to be disappointed. While the two films were made in the same style, this film has a lot more characters, story lines, and takes place on a much larger scale. You also have to be willing to wonder about the questions posed in the film; things like torture, US work overseas, and how this country has conducted itself in the last decade are put front and center for your consideration. I hope that if you see this film, you will go in not expecting all of the answers and resolutions to be handed to you. Also please remember that there was some creative license taken; and despite knowing the eventual outcome you will allow yourself to enjoy a well made film.