Zero Dark Thirty,
The hunt for the man behind 9/11 attacks doesn’t hold back on the dirty details
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Reda Kateb, Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, Mark Duplass Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow Duration: 157 minutes
Parental guidance: language, torture, violence
Playing at: Banque Scotia, Colossus, Kirkland, Marché Central,
Sphèretech, Taschereau cinemas
Spoiler alert: Osama bin Laden dies. OK, so the “what” isn’t so interesting. The “how,” on the other hand, drives Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal’s second war film about U.S. activities in the war on terror, Zero Dark Thirty.
How much you care about bin Laden and watching the U.S. get its vengeance for 9/11 will factor into how intrigued you are by the premise — but it’s not the be-all, end-all. Bigelow knows how to weave a yarn, not to mention keep tension on a steady simmer for the length of a two hour-plus feature film (two hours, 37 minutes, in this case).
Where The Hurt Locker thrived on the real and present dangers faced by a bomb squad over a month in Iraq, Zero Dark Thirty follows a crew of CIA investigators trying to determine the whereabouts of the world’s most wanted criminal over a 10-year period.
It would be a tough sell if it weren’t for bin Laden’s cachet as the elusive bogeyman responsible for one of the most traumatic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. So ingrained is the story in the global psyche Bigelow doesn’t have to explain things.
A preliminary statement informs us the film is based on “first-hand accounts of actual events.” Following a few minutes of static-tinged, frantic 9/11 phone call recordings over a black screen, Bigelow dives in, offering only dates and locations as she follows a few key investigators on “the greatest manhunt in history,” as per the film poster.
Zero Dark Thirty has drawn heat for its depiction of torture methods used during CIA questioning. And while Bigelow doesn’t get gratuitous, she doesn’t hold back.
Leading the charge is Dan (Australian actor Jason Clarke), a tough yet charismatic agent who has his own good cop/bad cop routine as he drills captives for information. Enter Maya (Jessica Chastain, boldly determined), the newbie with an edge. She will lead us through this saga, keeping us on board and offering hints of how to process what we are shown.
While Dan brutalizes an exhausted prisoner named Ammar (Reda Kateb), Maya’s distraught expres- sion allows for both compassion and distance. As time goes by, she toughens up; she also shows backbone.
When Ammar pleads with her to help him, early on, she coolly replies, “You can help yourself by being truthful.”
It’s a long and winding road to the well-documented navy SEAL operation that closes the deal — and which Bigelow shows in a riveting real-time, night-vision-simulating sequence that clocks in near the half-hour mark.
Maya turns out to not only be the narrative thread, but the brains and grit that keep the al Qaida leader’s scent alive when everyone has either lost interest or is looking elsewhere.
As such, she allows Bigelow something that was missing from The Hurt Locker — a strong female voice (aside from the director’s own, of course). Her latest film opens up, as a result. While remaining loyal to the U.S. perspective, it allows moments of empathy for the other side.
Even in the climactic raid sequence, we feel the panic and pain of the women in the compound as their husbands are systematically shot down; and we bristle at the ease with which bullets are put in bodies. War is a dirty business, lest we forget.
In the film’s final image, Maya, alone, lets her feminine/emotional side seep through. It’s a graceful coda to a thrilling ride, denoting the personal toll of a political vendetta, and offering room for reflection.