Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, and Chris Pratt
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenplay by: Mark Boal
Some people might call it the greatest manhunt in history. I just think it's the United States stopping at no end to keep it's people safe from Osama bin Laden. Ok...Maybe it is the greatest manhunt in history, but it sure makes for an interesting film.
This is the story of a CIA agent named Maya (Jessica Chastain) and her decade long hunt for Osama bin Laden. The story takes us through almost the entire decade between September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was attacked, and May 2011, when SEAL Team Six took out Osama bin Laden in Abottabad, Pakistan.
First off, I'd like to discuss the disturbing images in this film. There are quite a few of them throughout the film as different suspected terrorists are tortured by various ways of "enhanced interrogation". There are scenes where one of the prisoners is waterboarded, which have probably caused the most controversy surrounding the film. I think these are not the most disturbing scenes of the film. While these are quite disturbing, scary, and can potentially mar your enjoyment of the film, there is one scene in particular that freaked me out more than any other part of the film, and frankly more than many other disturbing scenes in films.
The first two minutes or so of the film are only audio. But the audio is of recordings of people screaming and crying for help during the September 11 attacks. It's an extremely effective scene for disturbing people because there is no video, only audio, so you'd have to imagine what these people who are talking are going through. As a filmmaking tool, it makes a long lasting impression on viewers, and you'll probably think about it a few times during the course of the film. I rarely am disturbed by bloody and gory scenes, but this kind of scene I have a very difficult time with. If you're the same way, this is most likely not a movie for you.
Like Kathryn Bigelow's Best Picture winning film The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty has a lot of details about different characters involved in this manhunt, and it's easy to become lost with all of the details. Some of the characters that are being hunted are easy to confuse with others. Some names you might recognize if you paid close attention to the news during the last decade, and others you might not.
The film tells this story with a rather dark yet accurate tone. There is a sense of failure through most of the film, that the people doing the hunting aren't searching hard enough. Even toward the end of the film when SEAL Team Six goes into bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, you get the feeling that there is a strong possibility that they're about to kill the wrong guy, even though we all know that they got the right guy in reality as well as in the film. There's no sense of urgency to defeat the enemy either. This manhunt took a decade to finally take out Osama bin Laden, and during that decade, so many innocent people lost their lives in terrorist attacks that were ultimately linked to bin Laden. So, even after thousands of people are dying at the hands of this known terrorist, there is no sense of urgency.
While the film is supposed to be the story of the whole manhunt, and not just the SEAL Team Six mission, I think that the soldiers who are part of that unit don't get enough credit for their actions. While it is recognized in the film that these guys took out the most wanted man in the world, the film portrays it as just another ordinary day and another ordinary mission. And while the film mentions this feat, it only glosses over it, and as a result, I feel that the soldiers are not thanked enough.
Enough ranting. Overall, this is a well done film. I do not see it as a Best Picture contender for either the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but there is certainly a strong argument for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jessica Chastain), and Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow). But like I said, this is a disturbing film and it's definitely not for everyone. Currently, it's only in limited release in theaters in Los Angeles and New York City, but will wide release on January 11. So, I'm going to say that this is a film that you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not to see. You'll definitely learn a lot about this manhunt that you probably didn't know before. But if you decide to see it, make sure you have a strong stomach.
I give Zero Dark Thirty a B+.
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenplay by: Mark Boal
Some people might call it the greatest manhunt in history. I just think it's the United States stopping at no end to keep it's people safe from Osama bin Laden. Ok...Maybe it is the greatest manhunt in history, but it sure makes for an interesting film.
This is the story of a CIA agent named Maya (Jessica Chastain) and her decade long hunt for Osama bin Laden. The story takes us through almost the entire decade between September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was attacked, and May 2011, when SEAL Team Six took out Osama bin Laden in Abottabad, Pakistan.
First off, I'd like to discuss the disturbing images in this film. There are quite a few of them throughout the film as different suspected terrorists are tortured by various ways of "enhanced interrogation". There are scenes where one of the prisoners is waterboarded, which have probably caused the most controversy surrounding the film. I think these are not the most disturbing scenes of the film. While these are quite disturbing, scary, and can potentially mar your enjoyment of the film, there is one scene in particular that freaked me out more than any other part of the film, and frankly more than many other disturbing scenes in films.
The first two minutes or so of the film are only audio. But the audio is of recordings of people screaming and crying for help during the September 11 attacks. It's an extremely effective scene for disturbing people because there is no video, only audio, so you'd have to imagine what these people who are talking are going through. As a filmmaking tool, it makes a long lasting impression on viewers, and you'll probably think about it a few times during the course of the film. I rarely am disturbed by bloody and gory scenes, but this kind of scene I have a very difficult time with. If you're the same way, this is most likely not a movie for you.
Like Kathryn Bigelow's Best Picture winning film The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty has a lot of details about different characters involved in this manhunt, and it's easy to become lost with all of the details. Some of the characters that are being hunted are easy to confuse with others. Some names you might recognize if you paid close attention to the news during the last decade, and others you might not.
The film tells this story with a rather dark yet accurate tone. There is a sense of failure through most of the film, that the people doing the hunting aren't searching hard enough. Even toward the end of the film when SEAL Team Six goes into bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, you get the feeling that there is a strong possibility that they're about to kill the wrong guy, even though we all know that they got the right guy in reality as well as in the film. There's no sense of urgency to defeat the enemy either. This manhunt took a decade to finally take out Osama bin Laden, and during that decade, so many innocent people lost their lives in terrorist attacks that were ultimately linked to bin Laden. So, even after thousands of people are dying at the hands of this known terrorist, there is no sense of urgency.
While the film is supposed to be the story of the whole manhunt, and not just the SEAL Team Six mission, I think that the soldiers who are part of that unit don't get enough credit for their actions. While it is recognized in the film that these guys took out the most wanted man in the world, the film portrays it as just another ordinary day and another ordinary mission. And while the film mentions this feat, it only glosses over it, and as a result, I feel that the soldiers are not thanked enough.
Enough ranting. Overall, this is a well done film. I do not see it as a Best Picture contender for either the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but there is certainly a strong argument for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jessica Chastain), and Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow). But like I said, this is a disturbing film and it's definitely not for everyone. Currently, it's only in limited release in theaters in Los Angeles and New York City, but will wide release on January 11. So, I'm going to say that this is a film that you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not to see. You'll definitely learn a lot about this manhunt that you probably didn't know before. But if you decide to see it, make sure you have a strong stomach.
I give Zero Dark Thirty a B+.
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