Zero Dark Thirty

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, Mark Duplass, Harold Perrineau, James Gandolfini, Fredric Lehne
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A CIA Agent (Jessica Chastain) spends decades of her life hunting for Osama Bin Laden.

Review:

Tim: Despite the rave reviews from critics, I was a skeptic of Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow is certainly a talented director, and I really loved her last effort, The Hurt Locker. However, I (and many others, I'm sure) are starting to get a little tired of movies about Iraq, Afghanistan, and the whole Middle East conflict. Still, I tried to enter this with an open mind. And- I'm really glad i did. This film is a brilliantly crafted, intense, exciting film. It depicts a major world event in an entertaining way. I was completely sold- this is a great movie.

Bigelow obviously had some passion behind this project. The story follows one female agent as she spends a decade plus searching for Osama Bin Laden. Her obsession is so compelling that we get caught up in her plight- we identify with the frustrations, the setbacks, and the overwhelming desire to bring this awful criminal to justice. The film is very long at 157 minutes, but it moves so quickly and never feels long or unnecessarily drawn out. That is a testament to Bigelow's directorial effort.

The script for this film is truly fantastic. It brings us behind the scenes, behind the closed doors of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. I know this is a fictionalized account of that hunt, but much of what is depicted is at least close to reality. I had no idea the extent of the search, how intense and all-consuming it was. I was unaware of the level of danger and the risks our field agents took to eventually locate Bin Laden. I loved that this film showed us all of that in such fascinating detail.

I do want to mention the torture scenes, because they were incredibly controversial (and somewhat unnecessarily so). This film does seem to suggest that torture was instrumental in helping us find Bin Laden. That may anger some people, but I have to suspect it is true. Those scenes were a little hard to watch, but I appreciated their inclusion. It made this film more complex and realistic. I know Americans always like to think of ourselves as the good guys, but we've gone to some dark lengths to protect our homeland. That's just part of this complex, dangerous world we live in.

The cast of this film was very good. I absolutely loved Jessica Chastain in this film. She gives a remarkable performance- one that shoots her way up my list of favorite actresses (I still wouldn't consider her in my upper echelon, but she is getting closer). Chastain was incredible in this film. She had a legitimate claim to winning the Best Actress Academy Award (I'll have to settle for the nomination only).

There was a very strong supporting cast around Chastain. I thought Jason Clarke did an exceptional job. I also really liked Joel Edgerton in a smaller role. This guy continues to impress me every time I see him. Chris Pratt is not someone I would have expected to be in this role, but he did a pretty good job. Mark Strong is always fun to see, and I liked him in this role. Kyle Chandler was fine- I always want to like him more than I actually do. I always love seeing Harold Perrineau, and James Gandolfini worked well also. I'm a big fan of Jennifer Ehle, and while I did not love her here, I loved her presence. As the director, Kathryn Bigelow did a great job of pulling in all these actors in small but important roles.

I do have to mention the stunning portrayal of the raid on the Bin Laden compound. I read somewhere that the real-life raid took about 27 minutes, and the scene in this film lasts 25. That is nearly a real-time depiction of the raid. It is exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful. It was also very informative. I get that this is a Hollywood depiction, but it is rooted in fact. I learned a great deal about the raid from this film. I loved that powerful raid scene.

Zero Dark Thirty surprised me- it was such a great movie. It was an important, powerful film that depicted a real, important event. This is a film I entered with a good deal of reservations, but left feeling completely blown away. This is one of the best movies of 2012.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Hurt Locker, The Help