“Zero Dark Thirty” chronicles the 10 years between the horrors of September 11th and the SPOILER ALERT killing of Osama Bin Laden. The film takes its time fitting the pieces of the puzzle together and presents a load of information that we are to believe are facts. But it’s a guessing game trying to figure out what is true or fabricated and while screenwriter Mark Boal is said to have incredible access to actual top secret information, the film is merely based on true events. This trivialized “Zero Dark Thirty” and made the entire exercise impossible to invest in one single word.
It reminded me of Oliver Stone’s “W.” from a couple of years back. Hell, this reminds me of any Stone picture that includes the name of a president in the title. As you watch the dramatization unfold there is always the doubt that lingers in the back of the mind. It would be a revelation to know that George W. never felt as if his father respected him and that was his driving force but that is only speculation.
“Zero Dark Thirty” is speculation. While some of the tent pole events are probably facts, the filler cannot be. This is usually fine as I’m sure that the last thirty minutes of “Argo” was massaged and manipulated for maximum effect but the SPOILER ALERT death of Bin Laden is too important to mess with.
The other issue with director Kathryn Bigelow’s yarn is that she populated the story with lifeless characters. Our main focus is Maya (Jessica Chastain) whose sole focus in life is to SPOILER ALERT put a bullet in Bin Laden’s head. We watch Maya raise in the ranks and gaze through her eyes as she witnesses torture (some fun waterboarding anyone?) and the internal components of the C.I.A. fight each other as the frantically search for the enemy. Maya is cold and distant and Chastain’s performance is as focused as a laser beam but she is the core of the movie. This disconnection bleeds out through the movie and there becomes very little to relate to or care about. I like my films to be populated with breathing human beings, not emotionless robots.
After two hours of bland Journalism Cinema that is so authentic with the insider dialogue that it becomes confusing to follow (I do not work at the C.I.A. and am not privy to much of the terminology used by the Agency) “Zero Dark Thirty” culminates with over thirty minutes of documentary-like footage of the Navy Seals heading to Pakistan to SPOILER ALERT kill Osama Bin Laden. The sequence is meticulous and feels authentic but would have had more punch if it didn’t follow the subpar “Act of Valor” from a few months prior. Don’t get me wrong, Bigelow’s manhunt video game is better than that drivel but the two are comparable which only further lessens the blow.
“Zero Dark Thirty” is the biggest disappointment of the year. Overlong, lifeless and boring. Judging from the accolades the film is receiving from the National Board of Review and some of the Film Critic circles, I am in the minority here and I would love to hear your thoughts. Paired with “The Hurt Locker” Bigelow has taken upon herself to capture a very dark chapter in our country’s history. It’s important work. I just wish was executed better.