Zero Dark Thirty, Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm.
FILM OF THE WEEK:
When you’ve made an acclaimed war drama like TheHurt Locker and become the first female film-maker to win a Best Director Oscar, what can you possibly do as a follow-up?
Well, if you’re Kathryn Bigelow, you can dramatise the hunt for Osama bin Laden, with Zero DarkThirty. It may not have been as universally praised as its predecessor, in part due to the controversy surrounding its depiction of the CIA’s controversial interrogation techniques, but it’s every bit as powerful.
It opens in darkness with emotionally wrought telephone calls and emergency service broadcasts from September 11, 2001, perfectly setting the tone for what follows.
Two years later, gutsy CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) accepts an Islamabad posting, under Station Chief Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler), where interrogator Dan is concerned the newcomer might not be up to the task. Maya imposes herself on the team, initially causing friction with colleagues Jessica (Jennifer Ehle), Larry (Edgar Ramirez) and Steve (Mark Duplass). Over the next eight years, including a disturbing recreation of the 2005 suicide attacks on London, Maya dedicates her life to any intelligence which might lead her to bin Laden.
The film replays recent history through the eyes of Chastain’s committed agent, and her powerhouse performance sustains your attention throughout.