When the first trailer for Zero Dark Thirty hit theaters, I heard a lot of complaints that the film had been turned around too quickly. But I thought the timing was perfect. Though Americans won’t ever forget the death of Osama bin Laden, there’s only a limited window of opportunity wherein the event will remain fresh in the collective consciousness of the nation. Had the filmmakers waited, the moment for making an impact would be lost.
And boy, does this movie leave a hell of a mark. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, it is an ambitious, pulse-pounding epic that centers on the painstaking, dangerous work by intelligence and military personnel around the globe which culminated in the May 2011 operation that put bin Laden on a slab.
Not surprisingly, Zero Dark Thirty has been the target of political finger-pointing from both sides of the aisle. Conservatives have labeled it as a piece of pro-Obama propaganda, while liberals deride it as an endorsement of torture in interrogations.
Neither of these claims are on target. President Obama is not the movie’s hero. In fact, the only mention of him occurs during two scenes wherein characters voice criticisms of his policies. When it comes to torture, the tactic is portrayed as one of many used in the manhunt, and isn’t glorified or given a position of prominence. To leave it out would be a glaring and irresponsible omission; a failure to take into account the complexities involved in the formidable task at hand. In any case, the idea that the movie leans heavily toward either the left or right is unfounded.
Because of the fervor that surrounded the movie long before its release, it’s likely that many of those who scream and rage of political bias came into the film holding preconceived opinions fed to them by pundits. They are cherry-picking aspects to bemoan without considering them within the context of the film as a whole. In any case, these are stubborn people who believe what they want to believe and refuse to be swayed.
This kind of narrow-minded criticism is a disservice to this film. Zero Dark Thirty deftly tells what is perhaps the defining story of our time, anchored by a brilliant performance from Jessica Chastain. She stars as the young CIA operative Maya, part of a team working throughout the Greater Middle East in pursuit of leads and informants that will bring them closer to the founder and leader of al-Qaeda.
What’s important to keep in mind is that Maya – along with many other characters – is a composite: a fictional distillation of real-life individuals. In actuality, there were far more men and women involved than could be portrayed on celluloid. Maya may be an invention of the filmmakers, but her character is far from historical heresy. She is an embodiment of the passion and dedication of those who worked in the trenches.
With its substantial 157-minute running time, Zero Dark Thirty is not a film to see on a full bladder. Keeping us interested for that long is no easy task; recent movies of similar length (think Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises) quite often come off as bloated or dragged out, sending their audience’s minds wandering. But this film does not fall prey to the hazards of the modern epic. Mark Boal’s screenplay is refreshingly devoid of filler, making complete engagement with the story possible at all times.
On the night I saw this film, something odd happened in the theater. At most other movies I go to, people start talking and milling about – with many in a seemingly mad rush for the exits – as soon as the end credits begin rolling.
This time was different. My fellow moviegoers weren’t as eager to leave their seats as they usually are. There were some who egressed right away, but most just sat there in silence. That is what this movie does to you. It is an emotionally draining experience that is very hard to simply walk away from without contemplation.
Zero Dark Thirty offers us a chance to start a conversation about the cost of the war on terror, measured by how far we are willing to test the limits of our morality. But this dialogue will not succeed in providing clarity if its loudest voices are those of dogmatic pundits who use the film as a tool in the political fracturing of America. We need to move past polarization if we are ever going to come to grips with the choices our country has made.
