Zero Dark Thirty
It has taken me a few days to digest the film and find what
my take on one of this year’s most lauded and criticized films. In the wake of
its Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original
Screenplay, I had high expectations of the film although I entered knowing it’s
not the kind of movie that I am drawn to. Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker was
a super tense, well-crafted film that I marveled over once and then never felt
compelled to watch again. I expected something similar with Zero Dark Thirty.
However, what I got was a precise and very deliberate film which doesn't have
room to breathe. It’s not as tense as The Hurt Locker because Bigelow has it in
a choke hold. Every shot is so calculated and measured that it’s stifled. That
said, some of the cinematography is thoughtful and beautiful, the central
character is written well and fiercely brought to life by Jessica Chastain, and
the ensemble delivers a solid supporting foundation for the film. However, Chastain’s
role is so quarantined in the circumstances that we never see a full person; we
only get the fraction which entails her position with the CIA. Despite the
attempts at humanizing her in a few scenes, she never really completely emerges
leaving the heart of the film struggling to find a pulse. Yet, if that was the
intention of the screenwriter, Mark Boal, and Bigelow then they succeeded and
consequently created a character in need of more development. I do not believe
the film either glorifies or demonizes the hunting and killing Osama Bin Laden
and all it entailed; Zero Dark Thirty depicts what occurred and condenses into
a film that still feels quite long. Despite
these shortcomings, the film is compelling for the majority of its running
time.
Maya, portrayed by Jessica Chastain, is an ambitious,
passionate beast. Her ambitions and passion flare as she protects victims of
terrorism. However, her quest comes at the cost of harming those which may lead
her to finding Osama Bin Laden. It is no comfort to see that her skillful
research and thoughtful investigation leads her to accurate conclusions as to
those that will get her the necessary information to finalize the hunt. We
witness her toughened by her profession, but really it is her own strong will and
determination that transform her into someone capable of extraordinary cruelty
veiled by a light voice and infectious smile. In an early scene, she is hardly
capable of watching a prisoner being physically assaulted for information by a
charming assailant which happens to be her colleague. She is much more
comfortable to see interrogations suggesting violence as opposed to executing
bodily harm. Yet, as time passes, she hardens. We see her confront her
superiors, conduct forceful questionings herself, and eventually is just as
blood-thirsty as those she hunts. And yet, she has to be. She has to be more resolute,
more strident, and more confident than any of her counterparts to get the job
done. She allows the transformation to
occur. She gets cocooned by her profession and the audience never sees her
emerge from there. The final image is an unfulfilled, lost person neither
understanding nor enjoying their success.
