Zero Dark Thirty

As it happened, I was in New York city over winter break, and the most anticipated film of the season was open in limited release, so I thought I would drop in to Times Square on Christmas night and watch it a few weeks before it comes to Seattle.

Kathryn Bigelow has made a name for herself in a big way as the director in the realistic fiction war genre, but she tackles a controversial story with the accurate (or is it?) events chronicling the manhunt of Osama Bin Laden in detail, down to the graphic interrogation techniques by the CIA. The film has its detractors, saying that it is based on fabricated events and speculation, and has even been decried by member of Congress who declare that the United States does not torture its detainees! Let's be honest, it may not be happening now, but from 2001-2009 or so? Absolutely there were CIA interrogators waterboarding suspected terrorists with ties to Al Quaeda.

Half based on the current NY Times bestseller titled No Easy Day by a Seal Team Six member who claims he was there for the operation ironically titled Neptune Spear (SEALS?), Bigelow and her trusty writer, Mark Boal fill the screen with rising tension from the darkness of the opening scene all the way to the satisfying ending, keeping very much in line with the reports and the literature that is out there. Obviously characters have to be dramatized, and dialogue concocted, but for my money, it seemed right on. There is no sensationalization and I'm not sure why anyone would question the integrity of the information, it is solidly done.

The film opens with a series of audio clips played over a black screen. 911 calls, confused air traffic controllers, and other chaotic noise that we all know too well from that tragic day eleven years ago. It was much more viceral for me, being in the heart of New York city, surrounded in a movie theatre by people who were actually there, and as the woman cried on the phone, telling the 911 operator that she didn't want to die, I felt a chill run down my spine and knew I was in for an emotional ride.

The film progresses from 9/11/01 up until the night that Bin Laden was finally executed, on 5/2/11. It is a ten year manhunt that cost billions of dollars in military operations and economic aftershock.

Jessica Chastain plays Maya, the CIA analyst who makes it her personal goal to find the clever terrorist, often going beyond the call of her own duty. She dauntlessly accepts the task, and impresses everyone she encounters with her tenacity and poise. She has been receiving acclaim for her performance, and rightfully so. She is the anti-hero in the middle of a testosterone-fueled military black-ops world, yet she earns the respect of the men who give her orders. If this film makes the same kind of run that The Hurt Locker did a few years back, she will likely win Best Actress. I still like Jennifer Lawrence, but Chastain is tremendous.

Supporting cast members include two factions; the suits, and the SEALs. Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, and James Gandolfini are terrific on the screen, particularly Jason Clarke. He plays the CIA interrogator who is merciless in the confines of a dark cell, but conflicted on the outside. I give him an outside shot at an Oscar nomination. His performance is incredible. Chandler plays Joseph Bradley, and Gandolfini is Leon Panetta in a short, but memorable role. Jennifer Ehle is a CIA operative who befriends Chastain's Maya and shows the true danger of the business they are in.

By the time the SEALs finally enter the screen, we are entering the final act. Although heavily advertised, Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt are only on the screen for a handful of minutes, and Pratt shucks his normal funny guy routine (Parks and Recreation) for an unexpected, yet refreshing action role. He does provide the small bits of comic relief in an otherwise heart-stopping sequence of events, but those expecting Edgerton screen time will be disappointed.

That's about the only disappointing thing about the film. The raid sequence brings us to the heightened climax of the hunt, with a pressuring feel of urgency. Although everyone in the Western world knows what happened on May 2nd, Bigelow manages to keep you on the edge of your seat with stealthy movements, darkness, and an appropriate absence of musical score at just the right moments.

Meticulously recreated, the actions mirror that from the book No Easy Day, which leads me to believe that accuracy was her foremost priority. That's what makes the film so resonating. It is reality on the screen.

On paper, an eleven year investigation to find a man may seem to be a bit trivial and even banal, but Bigelow and especially writer Mark Boal make it accessible even to someone without a clue of military or CIA protocol, and they make it interesting. There are a few very brief lulls in the action, but they are short lived through explosive and unexpected jolts of action thrown in to maintain adequate pacing.

From start to finish, it is a thrill ride worthy of Oscar gold, and is my favorite film of 2012, but I'm thinking it is a bit too heavy and close to home for a lot of people, and I still like Argo as Best Picture and would recommend it to the masses. I think Bigelow will edge out Ang Lee for Director due to the sheer heaviness of the subject, despite the lack of special effects. Bigelow has a vision and follow-through that manipulates emotion, and has zeroed in and locked on the modern warfare genre. Expect more than adequate nominations, and is definitely worth watching if you can stomach the torture. Not too graphic, but absolutely stays with you long after viewing. 10/10.