Zero Dark Thirty Delivers for the Holidays

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2012)

ZERO DARK THIRTY/MY REVIEW 12/20/12 Kathryn Bigelow's latest directorial effort, has been receiving even more attention than her 2008 Tour De Force "Hurt Locker", about a team of ordinance disposal soldiers during the war in Iraq. Ms Bigelow garnered a best director Oscar for her efforts on HL and the film went on to win an additional five statutes. On this go around she tackles the war on terror, specifically the Hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Ms Bigelow has teamed up again with writer Mark Boal a former freelance journalist who was embedded in Iraq in the early years of that war, Mr. Boal also won Gold for his original screenplay of Hurt Locker. On this go around the dynamic pairing of Bigelow and Boal's, sends us on a trip that will reveal the inner workings of our intelligence service (C.I.A) hunt for Osama Bin Laden. As well the internal mechanics of the terror organization we have come to know as Al-Qaeda. Concentrating on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is the central issue and although the road takes some twist and turns. Ms Bigelow always steers us back, in the direction of the impossible task of finding the needle in a dark cave that was (Bin Laden).
Zero Dark Thirty may not be for everyone, what may appear to be a slow moving tale for action junkies being deprived of their adrenaline shots. Ms Bigelow makes sure to dispense the excitement for the rest of us, with the consistency of an intravenous drip, methodical and sufficient to achieve its purpose. In Zero Dark Thirty, Ms. Bigelow has opened a door and allowed us to enter. The result is a satisfaction of witnessing a relentless and painstaking process to bag the overlord of all Al-Qaeda attacks on Americans. The films protagonist is a CIA analyst named Maya played by the very talented Jessica Chastain. Maya displays a crescendo of obsessive determination which distances her from her superiors while garnering the respect of her colleagues. In Zero Dark Thirty Ms Bigelow allows Ms Chastain's portrayal of Maya, to slowly develop and engulf us into a state of total support and amazement. Through the years she reveals slowly her sheer determination to capture the world's most dangerous man. Chastain's portrayal of Maya is sure to capture the artistic attention she so richly deserves. The journey that we embark on in ZDT, brings Maya to life through her exhaustive twelve year search. The film doesn't judge, it allows us to ask ourselves some serious philosophical questions along the way. Principally how far are we willing to go exact justice? Ms Bigelow lets us dwell into our psyche and explore the questions which naturally arise from this journey. For me one thing was clear about this film, the journey can be more important than the destination.Those twelve years Maya searches for the elusive Bin Laden were filled with terror,frustration,savagery. We know what the final payoff is (a dead Bin Laden) Ms Bigelow makes sure not let us off the hook so easy. The distinction of Zero Dark Thirty is the authenticity of its source material, which came into question for possible disclosure violation, of top secret materials. Charges that writer Boal's completely denies. The question has risen from the very authentic characters and C.I.A. methodology displayed in the film. Including but not limited to the actual step by step S.E.A.L team mission to capture Bin Laden. Certainly enough to make CIA management question Mr. Boal's sources. This film worked on many levels for me; on limited release in the East Village section of Manhattan, just twenty blocks from the site of the attack on the World Trade Center. I watched it along with a hundred other New Yorkers and not once did I find Ms Bigelow storytelling to be demeaning to its audience or to the subject matter. Ms Bigelow made sure to withhold from making any manipulative or political statements, instead like an expert butcher. She just kept removing the fat and presenting a lean and concise telling of this most riveting story. The supporting cast with Jason Clarke formerly of Showtime series Brotherhood turns in a solid portrayal of Dan, Maya's supervisor. The rest of the cast Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Ricky Sekhon and Mark Strong without exception were equally as effective in delivering home this remarkable project. As I sat watching this film with my fellow New Yorkers, I felt something that I rarely feel watching films. I felt a mix of emotions mostly gratitude to be an American. I felt a beaming pride in the incredible hard work it took for justice to be handed out. In many ways Zero Dark Thirty was not just a film but a cathartic experience for me as well. It resonated and released many unresolved feelings within me that had been locked up for eleven years. I suppose with all the division that continues to take place in our nation. Zero Dark Thirty truly delivers a bipartisan gift worthy of Santa himself.