A Masterpiece of Epic Proportions

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2013)

Kathryn Bigelow is a phenomenal director, an incredible storyteller, and has become Hollywood's mouthpiece for all things dealing with the US's involvement with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her central characters are stoic, driven individuals heavily encumbered by the events and situations in which they are associated. Her attention to detail is totally unmatched by any other director of this genre. Whether she is focusing on the stress and tribulations of an EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) technician in 'The Hurt Locker' or an up and coming CIA agent in pursuit of Osama Bin Laden, Kathryn Bigelow has the uncanny ability to tell their story in an unbiased, unflinching, no holds barred directness that is a clear, precise, and exceptionally entertaining.
'Zero Dark Thirty' refers to the 0030 hrs local time commencement of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 assault on the Osama Bin Laden compound in Pakistan on 01 May 2011. However, the film's main focus is the fortitude and determination of a young CIA agent, Maya, who has dedicated her whole CIA career to the location and capture of Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain (The Help) is remarkable as CIA agent Maya. Maya is a highly intelligent individual who was recruited by the CIA while she was still in high school; her entire 12 year CIA career has been totally dedicated to one single individual: Osama Bin Laden, in which she is the CIA's Subject Matter Expert (SME) for all things associated with Bin Laden. Basically after 129 days of monitoring with absolutely no confirmation or concrete evidence to corroborate, its agent's Maya conviction that Osama Bin Laden is indeed situated on the Pakistan compound which actually 'green lights' the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 insertion/mission.
This is a brilliant film in which I highly recommend seeing. Kathryn Bigelow is an astonishing director, and was definitely robbed with her snub from the Academy of Arts and Motion Pictures by failing to secure a Best Director nomination for this film. Furthermore, all the bad press aimed at this film with regards to Director Bigelow's decision to include detainee torture sequences in this film is absolutely tenuous. The scenes were essential to the film's plot, and neither condoned nor glorified the actions taken to procure the desperately needed critical information. With a 157-minute running time, this film is a highly intensified, magnificently orchestrated, fantastically conceptualized, a masterpiece of celluloid genius, and a firsthand look of what it really takes to successfully fight (and win) the war on terrorism. Kathryn Bigelow cannot be lauded enough.
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