It's difficult for me to stay objective and unbiased of Zero Dark Thirty because, personally, I don't really approve of the movie being made in the first place. Just as I think United 93 and World Trade Center were just as unnecessary and a little bit "too soon". Here's the thing... they're exploitative movies that capitalize on horrific tragedies that have occurred in our country. You can give me any bullshit you want about how it honors the people who were involved or killed or whatever. But, guess what, any of that profit you made... didn't go to honor the families, did it? I realize I might be overreacting and a bit cynical but I think exploiting something like the killing of Osama bin Laden is a bit of a cheap shot. It screams Oscar bait. And, what's that, let's get that chick from The Hurt Locker to direct it! (Does anyone still remember Kathryn Bigelow got famous for directing Point Break)? I'm just a little bothered by the suits in Hollywood looking to make a significant profit off of national tragedy. However, after doing a little research I discovered a few things... Zero Dark Thirty didn't actually begin as this film. It was originally fully written about the decade-long unsuccessful manhunt of bin Laden, but as luck would happen, we ended up smokin' dat foo and voila! a better ending fell right into their laps. So, it was rewritten to focus all the efforts on how we actually found him. It's kinda like that movie Fever Pitch where a dude loves the Red Sox and they never win but after they filmed it the Red Sox won and so they re-shot the ending? Right? Isn't it totally like that? Like, totally? Am I to blame Bigelow and her cohorts for taking advantage of an ending that miraculously occurred whilst the other script was being greenlit? Of course, I could. But, I will not.
I figured I'd get all my bitching out of the way first because after having seen the movie, there's not much else I can complain about. As much as it pains me to say it, as much as I hate having to admit when I'm wrong, Zero Dark Thirty is a really good movie. Cheap exploits aside, I'm impressed at how engaged I was the entire time. I'm impressed at how even though I know a significant amount of information regarding the SEAL Team Six raid of bin Laden's compound... I was still nervous as balls. Much like Argo, this film was wholly intense almost through its entirety, even though you're very much aware of the ending. This is what I call superior filmmaking. Bigelow has found her niche, I believe. She has a way of making overtly long films, yet never letting it drag on too long before something equally intense or suspenseful is flung at the viewer. She excelled at this in The Hurt Locker, and she excels here.
Zero Dark Thirty follows Maya (Jessica Chastain), a CIA operative working incessantly, for several years on locating the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. Along with CIA member, Dan, they work to accomplish successful interrogations of known associates of bin Laden and his crew. Eventually, and after countless lives are lost and relationships broken, she finally receives a lead that winds up putting bin Laden in the compound where Seal Team Six invades. Though Maya isn't given much of a background and there isn't much time given to provide the viewer information about her social life outside of work, we know everything about her. She wears herself on her sleeves. We can see the pain and torment and frustration weighing heavily on her just by looking into her eyes. She's unyielding, even when the "interrogations" aren't exactly kosher. Her entire being is dead-set on her pursuit of Osama, even when America's attentions are focused elsewhere. There's a scene where almost ten years after the 9/11 attacks, she's still presenting her superiors with leads and she's shot down because who really cares about bin Laden... he's probably dead anyway. But, it's her unrelenting pursuit that led to one of the greatest manhunts in history.
The movie does cover a large span of time only stopping to pinpoint specific moments that were important to the pursuit. Most of the characters save for Maya are only on screen for a brief period of time. Two hours pass before the SEAL team even enter the film. But, each piece of information is vital to the flow of the story in order to show the near impossible path each person takes to retrieve it. It's difficult to watch some of the scenes when you know that failure or death is the inevitable path. It's also difficult to watch some of the torture the CIA implements because even though I am very aware that it's still a movie, try to prove to me that the guy wasn't actually being waterboarded. The film is actually very unapologetic about its portrayal of the use of torture as a means to get information from these known associates. I liked it because it shows America in an imperfect light. If you bomb our country or know someone who did, we will torture the fuck out of you until you give us what we want. "If you lie to me, I hurt you..." Well said.
And I wouldn't go so far as to say that this movie is PrObama, but it's certainly very unabashedly anti-Bush. The WMD's fiasco during Bush's reign is mentioned several times and actually hinders Maya's pursuit, setting it back months because the Government no longer allows room for error. They only deal in certainty and an 80% chance they know where bin Laden is hiding may just not be good enough because it could backfire just as the WMDs did. Most people aren't going to the movie to see the road traveled to get to the blasting of Osama, they're here for the last thirty minutes. And while the first two hours of the film are masterful, the last thirty takes the cake for fantastic filmmaking. Devoid of a soundtrack, we watch as the SEAL team land two "stealth" helicopters next to and on the compound. The whole landing itself isn't exactly stealth, but they're not there to be secretive. They're there for one reason: make sure Osama bin Laden ain't breathing by morning. It's half shot in almost complete darkness spliced with shots of nightvision from the point of view of the Navy SEALS. And like I've stressed before, even though you know exactly what's going to happen, even though you know nothing really goes wrong, even though you know not a single Navy SEAL is killed or left behind... you're scared. You're on the edge of your seat anticipating anything going wrong at any moment. And, it's quite a sight to see.
Yes, this movie should not have been as good as it was. Yes, America should almost be embarrassed that they can and will exploit any tragedy or occurrence they feel will generate a significant profit. And yes, this movie should've just been your run-of-the-mill Lifetime TV movie starring Rob Lowe... it's not. It's a sleek thriller that just so happens to be a [mostly] true story. It's certainly deserving of an Oscar nomination and though I'm sure it won't win, it's a movie that's deserved of being watched at least once.
A
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