Movie Review #44 Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

- War gets results with loss of self-worth

I'm really not surprised that this movie was nominated for Best Picture. The hunt for Osama Bin Laden was one that was very real and always in the foreground of public consciousness for so many years. The movie is up for five different Oscars: Sound editing, Editing, Original Screenplay, Leading Actress and of course, the most important Oscar, best film. Looking at the other nominated films in all of those categories – though I haven't seen them all yet, I am very doubtful it will win any of them although it could steal one. I'll go into more detail below with my problems of the film, but one of the categories it was nominated for was in my opinion one of the very reasons the movie was not satisfactory. I admit maybe I'm reading too much into the well-known fact that most of the jury for nominations is over the age of 50 and many are known to be Republican but I do feel American-based war films are getting nominated very often due to some sort of jingoistic reason that feeds their collective nationalist ego. Not that it didn't bring forth a greater good but the film story pats itself on the back too much.

I really should have known the movie was going to go over the top with this tone. With war, terrorism and the technological age that we live, in the first two are closer to us than ever before, I first heard about this project I believe days after the fact that the mastermind behind so many deaths across so many countries had been killed. If it had been about anybody else one may have even shouted “too soon” but for someone so despised in the western world, it is overlooked that he was a person and killed without judge or jury. This is important as this movie has no problems showing that, as in this based on a true story, it is exactly what happens.

The movie begins with a brief audio clip from assumed events from 9/11 and updating the viewer if you hadn't known this was about Osama Bin Laden (OBL) and the almost true events that lead to his capture and quick death. We are introduced to Dan (played by Jason Clarke) and Maya (played by Jessica Chastain). Dan is the lead torturer during the Bush administration just a few years after 9/11. He's good at his job, is seen as a person who loves tiny monkeys and ice cream, and who is not really big on hygiene. I wish he had more characterization because I think there is a good story in a character who, by his country's own hand, is asked to torture people for information and then has to live with the consequences. However I've just about given all major details about Dan here. He's incredibly under-utilized and as I felt he was one of the more interesting characters, the movie ultimately suffers. Maya then takes over the search for OBL during the Obama administration where there is a no torture policy, they touch on this briefly on the changed stance. She, like Dan, could be a very interesting character but they cookie-cut her out of a girl against the world character and she doesn't like the rules. She is insubordinate, uses crass language and nobody believes her incredibly flimsy leads even though you the viewer and herself know she is so right. She breaks character a few times and has a few tearful moments but they seem incredibly forced and unrealistic to the strong-headed character shown in the rest of the movie.

Red, White, Blue and Jessica Chastain.

The movie claims it is based on the true story from one of the men present during the successful attack on OBL's compound. The CIA has come out and said that it's pretty much false. Who do you believe? Both, neither. It doesn't matter. As there are so many other things suspicious about the movie, I'd suggest you watch it as a fluff piece and take nothing too seriously I did and I came out enjoying the movie a little more at least. The acting is probably the strongest part of it, I have no qualms with Jessica Chastain getting the nod for Best Actress, I don't really think she'll get it but not because she was bad but because her character and the script for her just wasn't that strong. She has two small emotional sequences as I said but her character at least for one of them really shouldn't have wept. They had built her up as a very aggressive, gets what she wants character and I felt she should have been filled with contempt and hatred which is shown the next day but it felt out of place.

If you watch this movie with the intent of getting the truth you will be disappointed. If you go into Zero Dark Thirty for a thriller movie that uses some names you're familiar with you'll enjoy it a little more.

I give it a 6/10

PS: If they wrote a better script I'd give Jessica Chastain the Oscar myself.