A straight forward depiction of sordid exciting facts, very very well made

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2013)

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
An amazing movie for what it says and for what it doesn't. And a brilliantly well constructed movie--the camera-work, editing, and writing are all in synch here. The acting is excellent in a purposeful way, too--some of the best performances come not from the leads, who are restrained professionals looking at computer screens and going to meetings, but from the people in the action. This includes soldiers and spies, but also victims and those who underwent torture.
Torture, depicted one way or another, is a key element and famously controversial part of what happened, and it's shown here with quite a bit of brutality, untempered. You might guess it was even worse than this, or that it was unfairly brutal in the film--we're sure never going to know which. But it's an unfriendly part of the movie and I had a hard time watching it. (I would have edited to a shorter awful sample and then shift to allusions to torture in order to avoid torturing the audience.)
But there are other elements that you come to admire and wonder about accuracy in the best way because it seems so true. Like just how did the events in the final capture and kill take place? And what kind of process did the CIA have then (and still have now) with operatives and clashes with white collar diplomats? The CIA operative here, centering around the unusually perceptive and tireless Jessica Chastain, is convincing. In fact, the whole movie is convincing, which is why questions of truthfulness matter.
And which brings up the other point about all movies based on fact like this--there was no real surprise in the big sense. We know the end. We know the climax. This is almost an illustration of recent history, a "dramatization" to use a belittling term. And so it depends a whole lot on doing a bang up perfect job. Which it nearly does. It's a powerful and interesting movie, as well an exciting action drama. And there are implications that lurk after it's done that need some sorting out. For those who care.
See it, for sure. It's an interesting pairing with "Argo" even though decades apart in setting. I found Katheryn Bigelow's previous film, "The Hurt Locker," to be more interesting and surprising in many ways, a better film I suppose. But this is equal to it in some ways, and so if you liked that one you ought to be in good shape here.