Zero Dark Thirty

Before we start, I'm not going to contribute to the debate surrounding Zero Dark Thirty with regards to its depiction of torture. Much better and more well-argued pieces exist on the subject than I could ever write. All I'll say is that such arguments are inherently flawed and as pointless as a shoe shop offering a Buy One Shoe, Get Another Free offer. Now, moving on...

Zero Dark Thirty could be seen as the next logical step for director Kathryn Bigelow to make, following her hugely-successful bomb disposal thriller, The Hurt Locker. With tense action sequences, male-dominated worlds and plenty of swearing, Zero Dark Thirty follows the hunt by the CIA to find and kill Osama Bin Laden: a story which spans ten years and which is condensed down, rather masterfully, into 2 hours 37 minutes by screenwriter Mark Boal. Centred on female CIA agent Maya (Jessica Chastain), the film is taut and very intense and the title, in case you were wondering, refers to Special Forces jargon for the time of night the operation took place.

The whole feel of the film is very factual. An intensity runs throughout the film in both the action sequences and the CIA meetings, a result of the great acting from the entire cast. Chastain's performance was utterly brilliant and she has firmly cemented herself as one of my favourite current actresses. Although some have criticised the Hollywood aesthetic of her character (at one point, she sports a pair of Ray-Ban aviators), I felt that her portrayal of an independently fierce, vulnerable and strong-willed protagonist was totally captivating. An impressive supporting cast helped the film feel very realistic which, I suppose, it naturally should have done as the events portrayed in it are rooted in reality. In many ways, Zero Dark Thirty is so effective and affecting because of this immediacy: there's a chase sequence in the frantic streets of Pakistan which, in any other film, would have had the veneer of the inconsequential Hollywood action sequence. The scene, however, is genuinely gripping and a sense of consequence is strongly developed by Bigelow. The film's subject matter dominates the news today, something which makes it all the more unsettling.

Bigelow's direction is superb and it is clear that she is a master of the genre. The film's denouement, despite the entire audience knowing the ending, is brilliantly, almost clinically, constructed and is a real thrill ride. Indeed, the entire film, from its disturbing opening shots of graphic torture to scenes set in White House boardrooms is riveting, largely a result of Bigelow and Boal's combined efforts. Much research has clearly gone into the film (interviews with CIA officials formed a significant part of this research) and the result is a fantastic mix of action, shock, politics and emotion, all underpinned by Chastain. Her character, Maya, remains defiant in the midst of male dominance, is accepted as 'one of the boys' when she finds the compound in which Bin Laden was hiding but, ultimately, remains isolated by the end of the film. A beguiling and tragic final shot sees Chastain as the exemplification of the CIA machine: integral to its inner workings but, in the end, forgotten.

Zero Dark Thirty is technically brilliant, emotionally engaging and manages to condense ten years of complex and difficult events into a screenplay which is a worthy follow up to The Hurt Locker. Its supposed politics aside, it scenes of torture are graphically portrayed but, to not do so in a film about this subject, would have been nearly impossible. It is an intelligent film, about intelligence gathering. Oh, and Jessica Chastain – wow. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * * * *