Review of Zero Dark Thirty (2012) by Brendan N — 14 Jun 2015

Zero Dark Thirty is an exhilaratingly brutal look at the desperation of the U.S. government to capture (more specifically kill) Osama Bin Laden during the post-9/11 era. It's exceedingly human but deceptively cruel and manages to brilliantly balance those tones throughout the film, leaning to impressive action set-pieces, brutal torture sequences and somber, intimate moments.

This is one of the film's greatest assets, as well as a clever script from director Kathryn Bigelow and star performances from all involved. Jessica Chastain is once again grippingly cold and Jason Clarke is surprisingly emotional. Other standouts include Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler and Chris Pratt. These performances help elevate the film above the standard of the genre.

Two of the film's most riveting scenes involve those with Jennifer Ehle. The first is where her and Chastain are out for dinner and the cafe explodes, presumably referencing the Bali Bombings. The other includes Ehle's character trying to persuade an Al-Quida doctor to come into the military base. This, ultimately, does not end well.

Some of the film's most confronting moments come during the final moments, those when Chastain's character is questioned about whether she truly believes Bin Laden is hiding in a civilian home. This leads to a military attack on the him, when upon return Chastain's Maya opens a body bag to reveal the face of Bin Laden. These final scenes show how desperate, how obsessed the American government had become during the greatest manhunt in recent memory.

It shows that Bigelow is respectful of the subject, but that she does not shy away from the harsher aspects of the story. Rather, she embraces them to create a fully real, dangerous world. In spite of some mediocre, tedious political drama, something that ultimately the film had to address, Zero dark Thirty is beautifully made.