Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgeton; Director: Kathryn Bigelow; Screenplay: Mark Boal; Producer: Kathryn Bigelow , Megan Ellison, : Mark Boal; Running Time: 157 minutes; Genre: Drama/Action; Location: USA, Pakistan
Technical Assessment:
3.5
Moral Assessment: 2
Rating: for viewers 18 years old and above
After the September 11, 2001 attack, a CIA team is assigned to secretly hunt
down and eliminate the terrorist leader of Al Queda group, Osama Bin Laden. One
CIA agent, Maya (Jessica Chastain) has dedicated her more than a decade of
service searching for the lone terrorist leader. She goes with a team that
interrogates detainees until one of them confesses a name of a personal courier
to Osama Bin Laden –Abu Ahmed al Kuwaiti. From then on, Maya centers her
life/mission on tracking down and chasing the mysterious courier whom she
strongly believes is the key to finding Osama Bin Laden.
Zero Dark Thirty realistically depicts
the nuances and the many facets of CIA’s operations alongside the politics (of
gender and geography included) that goes with it. It effectively portrays the
world as dark, vengeful, and dangerous; divided by race, religion and obsession
– while at the same time, some would be willing to die to change this. The film has successfully engaged the
audience in the gripping narrative which focuses on a woman’s quest towards
fulfilling a mission, believing (sometimes disbelieving) that the entire world
is on their side. Chastain shines in every moment of the film as she delivers
the complexity of her character even in its most silent moments. The action
sequences need not have big explosives nor spectacular effects so as to be consistent
with the film’s core—that is to demystify and de-glorify the US’ war against
terrorism which merely centers on revenge—no more, no less.
The film’s poster comes with a warning: “not for
the weak of hearts”, as most of its scenes closely depict tortures of detainees
during interrogation, with blood spurting all over the frame. So the moral
debate goes whether Zero Dark Thirty
glorifies torture as part of the world’s longing for peace. The film however
simply depicts this dilemma as seen in the eyes of CIA agent Maya. She cannot
stand the torture herself so she would let others do it, sometimes, not in her
presence. For most part, the movie shows how the US’ and CIA’s operations
produce dubious outcomes, even to the point of putting the lives of their
people in danger. With that, the film throws back the moral question to the
audience—is human physical torture moral if done for the sake of finding the
truth and achieving world peace? It cannot be denied though that said images
are so strong and are undoubtedly disturbing.
If
there’s one point in the film that CINEMA commends it is its portrayal of
women. Although Zero Dark Thirty
seems to be a man’s film at the onset, it turns out that it’s more about a
woman standing out and standing firm in a world predominated by men. Here, we
see how a woman’s intuition led to the success of a mission—how it gave the
world a reason for celebration. Although, the bigger question remains: Is there
really a reason to celebrate? With the death of Osama Bin Laden, is the world
now safer and at peace? Has the US’ wound been healed as they continuously
exact revenge on their opponents?
Is this fight against terrorism really worth fighting for?
