They say the top 3 hide & seek champions of all time are Waldo, car keys, and Osama Bin Laden. Since Waldo belongs in books and a movie about car keys would be incredibly boring, it seems natural that someone would want to make a movie about what has been dubbed the greatest manhunt of all time. Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow was up to the challenge. And thus we get the Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty, telling the real story of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
My Rating: 8/10
The Good: Many critics have sung the praises of ZOD, and I would like to concur. Although there's a lot to appreciate here, there are 3 main things that make it work:
1) The Acting. Without a strong leading lady, ZOD would be simply forgettable. Mercifully, this is not the case here. Jessica Chastain may have lost to Katniss—I mean, Jennifer Lawrence—in the race for Best Actress, but her performance as headstrong CIA operative Maya is Oscar-worthy. Chastain carries the weight of the entire film, all the while making us believe that she will find Osama Bin Laden. And when she does, we celebrate with her. But Chastain's not the only expert here. Her mission to catch Bin Laden is helped along by strong showings by Jennifer Ehle {yeah, tis the season for ladies with J names} as Maya's doomed co-worker and Jason Clarke as foul-mouthed CIA agent Dan. Basically, everyone puts their best foot forward and makes the entire operation completely believable.
2) The Mission. Perhaps the final 45 minutes-1 hour of Zero Dark Thirty is spent solely on SEAL Team 6 and the planning and carrying out of the actual mission to kill Bin Laden. Was it exaggerated for dramatic effect? Probably. Do I mind? Not really. Maybe it's a small thing, but watching the SEALs bravely risk their lives gave me a sense of pride in the United States, especially knowing that they do such things every day. The special forces don't get enough gratitude in the national media, and it was refreshing to find them thrust into a positive spotlight here.
3) The Realism. The film begins with a completely black screen, save for the words "September 11, 2001". We see nothing else. Rather, we listen as a myriad of frightened victims, family members, and 911 operators make calls. It's an artsy move; a mature one; and most of all, an effective one. This simple sequence sets the tone for the entire film. Many a respectable filmmaker would have succumbed to the temptation to over-sentimentalize the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. But not Kathryn Bigelow. She takes a less-is-more approach that actually makes the entire movie more dramatic. The understated music provides a believable, while never overwhelming, backdrop. The camerawork, though at times shaky in the popular style, remains mostly stable. The characters, while fully fleshed-out, tend not to over-emote. And the script, rather than wasting time with emotional scenes, is straightforward. All this makes the scenes with lots of emotion more dramatic. The best part, however, is that this approach is carried through even to the end. We all know how this story ends: the SEALS kill Bin Laden, Maya is vindicated; you would expect a celebratory ending with swelling music followed by slides of what happened to the characters afterwards set to an inspiring song. Instead, Bigelow just ends it. That's all. There is no inspirational song, no celebration. It's fitting for a film that centers on the killing of a notorious terrorist. And it is this realism, carried throughout all of Zero Dark Thirty, that make it, while not exactly enjoyable, realistic.
The Bad: Of course, this realism isn't always a good thing. Which leads me to 2 things I didn't particularly like:
1) A slow middle. This is a minor quibble, but it bears repeating nonetheless. Yes, the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is naturally an exciting subject. ZDT begins with a fascinating angle and ends with the actual mission. But in the middle, things get rather slow. I couldn't even tell you what happened during this time. However, things pick back up once the SEALs come onscreen and it's definitely not something that would keep me from watching.
2) The Realism, Redux. Realism in a film is almost always a blessing and a curse, and Zero Dark Thirty is a prime example. And while realism is a great thing in a movie like this, Bigelow at times takes it too far. A man is brutally tortured. People are blown up. And the SEALs take no prisoners. The camera looks on unflinchingly as all of this occurs. I get that it's all true-to-life and don't doubt that it actually happens. But that doesn't mean we need to see it all.
The Message: One incredibly interesting thing about Zero Dark Thirty is that there really is no message. It remains melancholy to the end, never overtly celebrating Bin Laden's death. Normally, that would bug me. But here, what message could you really send? And so it works. Bigelow doesn't as much give the audience life lessons as she does give everyone something to think about. And that is an effective tool. Although, with all this said, it should be noted that Maya's stubbornness and refusal to give up despite the worst of circumstances is admirable. Likewise, the SEALs' courage gives the viewer patriotic pride.
The Bottom Line: Kathryn Bigelow set out to tell the story of the greatest manhunt on earth. She succeeded. By going for melancholy and realistic, rather than sentimental and over-the-top, Bigelow creates a dramatic effect. Add in some Oscar-worthy showings from the cast and a thrilling second act, and you have a truly exciting true story.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Waldo.
Could you do Django Unchained?
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