Torture is a loaded word. Even a quiet utterance of it is instantly evocative of countless horrific images that have plagued society since humans have been able to interact with one another. Another particularly nasty word with significant emotional heft is terrorism. Clearly any work that deals with these subjects is taking a risk. Tackling such weighty subjects while creating a film that is incredibly rewarding emotionally while objectively presenting flawed and complex characters doing morally questionable things and making impossible decisions is nearly impossible. However, that's exactly what Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal do with their second collaboration, ZERO DARK THIRTY.
Billed as "the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man," ZERO DARK THIRTY condenses the ten year period between the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The film chronicles the efforts and struggles of the United States, specifically the efforts of CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) and eventually those of Seal Team Six, to find and kill public enemy number one, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
As she showed in her previous film, THE HURT LOCKER, Kathryn Bigelow is a master of pacing and high level tension. Apart from the final half hour of the film that focuses on the actual mission into the compound at Abbottabad, most of ZERO DARK THIRTY's action takes place in various CIA offices. It's a tribute to Bigelow and Boal's skill, that they are able to imbue scenes of people looking at files and prisoner interrogation on DVDs, or simply having conversations with one another (scenes depicting events of which we already know the ending) with incredible suspense.
The power of these scenes is equally a product of the performance of the film's leading lady, Jessica Chastain. As CIA officer Maya, Chastain brings to life one of the most vivid and realistic characters of the year. Having to battle sexism, red tape, and doubt throughout her career, Maya shows an indescribable amount of diligence and persistence in the face of adversity; her delicate features masking the granite underneath. It is clear that Maya is the hero of ZERO DARK THIRTY. However, because of the way Bigelow and Boal choose to present the events and actions of the story, we are left questioning what the word "hero" really means.
Shooting primarily handheld, ZERO DARK THIRTY has a clear documentary feel about it. The film neither condones or condemns the actions depicted on screen, opting instead to depict events as they were reported to have happened. The film refuses to spoon feed its audience, forcing viewers to think for themselves, asking questions without giving easy answers. This undoubtedly has led to tremendous controversy about the film's objective portrayal of torture as an effective measure of acquiring intelligence. Apart from the fact that this particular stance is very reactionary and simply untrue, the depiction of torture (and events in general) in this way serves a very important purpose. By not taking a side one way or the other, Bigelow avoids having her film devolve into a generic, jingoistic mess while also making the audience question the United States' methods of interrogation -- forcing you to reevaluate all you thought true about various individuals on both sides of the aisle, blurring the lines between who's "good" and who's "bad."
Behind a powerful performance by Chastain and an incredible score by Alexandre Desplat, ZERO DARK THIRTY is a taut and gripping depiction of one of the most important events of the 21st century. Though it most certainly takes dramatic liberty with the events depicted, it's an extremely well-crafted film with intense, visceral action sequences that manages to sustain some of the highest levels of intensity I've felt in quite some time. It's a film that doesn't take the easy way out -- instead giving context to the manhunt while showing the very real human cost of obsession and zeal. It's a beautifully shot film depicting incredibly real and often ugly things. And despite how you feel about what is depicted, it is one of the most enrapturing films of 2012. 9 out of 10
