The upcoming film Zero Dark Thirty is about the American government’s hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bigelow did not specify how far up the chain of command the film will go or how much of bin Laden’s elusive maneuvering will be explored. However, she did say that the film will take the audience on a journey of discovery and conflict. To find out whether you should watch the film, read on.
Review
Zero Dark Thirty is another thriller from the acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow, who previously won the Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker. This film is the follow-up to the 2008 award-winner, which deftly strips away the romanticism surrounding war and brings it into the present. Bigelow has brought together an excellent ensemble of actors and created a taut procedural thriller.
Zero Dark Thirty is structured much like a traditional procedural, but with white spaces and shifting meaning. The climax comes when a detainee refuses to give up information about a coordinated terrorist attack in London. The film is set two years after the terrorist attack on July 7, 2005, and traces the events of that day to the present day. A number of other movies have dealt with similar events, including The Battle of Algiers and Triumph of the Will.
Synopsis
The sequel to The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty examines the horrors and consequences of war on terror from the perspective of a female CIA officer. Like the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker, this film is a harrowing account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. While there are early scenes of torture, the film lacks conventional emotionalism or cathartic revenge. Despite this flaw, Zero Dark Thirty remains a towering achievement.
Set during the wake of 9/11, Zero Dark Thirty starts in the gloom of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. It then cuts to a scene in which a CIA agent tortures an al Qaeda financier. The film’s protagonist, Maya, actively fights against this torture and uses compassionate interrogation techniques. Eventually, her efforts yield a major lead to the capture of Osama Bin Laden.
Pacing
Despite being a war film, Zero Dark Thirty lacks the usual dynamism of a good action movie. Its pacing is too slow, and there are too many unnecessary actions and scenes. If you’re expecting to learn more about the war in Afghanistan, this film is not for you. I’d recommend cutting it by half an hour, at least. It’s a dull, tedious watch for the first 1.5 hours.
Though the film has been plagued by criticism for years, it deserves some credit. It was announced only a few months after the death of Osama bin Laden, which ensured negative reviews even before it’s released. That said, Zero Dark Thirty is an impressive film, and it’s a worthy sequel. In fact, the movie is a continuation of the book. In both books, the protagonist is a CIA operative and his mission is to track down and kill Osama bin Laden.
Performances
Zero Dark Thirty is a powerful thriller. The performances of the actors are a key component in making it a must-see movie. Director Kathryn Bigelow has made several films with great results, but she makes Zero Dark Thirty her best. Bigelow has the ability to make the most mundane moments seem interesting and thrilling. She makes the film’s main character a convincing human being and makes it seem like she is working on a larger project.
Zero Dark Thirty is a combination of a docudrama, thriller, and war film. The movie is made by the same filmmakers who made The Hurt Locker, but focuses on torture as an effective means of achieving the objective. This film is full of blood, and it’s important to keep this in mind when watching it. This movie is not suitable for children or young adults. It’s a gruesome and powerful movie.
Reactions
Reactions to Zero Dark Thirty are divided. Some people believe that the film should be regarded as a purely artistic “work of art” and should not be subjected to political scrutiny. Others are more critical and call it an insipid piece of political propaganda. Still, others find it difficult to disagree with the film’s moral message. While I haven’t seen Zero Dark Thirty myself, I have seen plenty of reviews of it.
The film is heavily politicized and misrepresents the interrogation program. It makes the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques appear to be somehow responsible for the death of Osama bin Laden. But that claim isn’t supported by the evidence in the movie, and it’s even more questionable given the fact that numerous credible sources have disproved this claim. Zero Dark Thirty also provides false advertising for torture techniques like waterboarding and other forms of harsh interrogation.
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