A Review: Zero Dark Thirty

Before giving my review, I want to start off by saying that I had a lot of reservations about the movie Zero Dark Thirty long before I saw it. The two main reasons, without going into great detail, were:

1) The disrespect towards a subject matter that deserves more than some Hollywood, glorified twist - only 2 years after the incident in question, while our Nation's international relations are still doing poorly and our troops are still in the Middle East.

2) Everything about this film appeared to stink of propaganda.

Now, 24 hours ago, I finally was in a movie theater and was watching this film. I went in with as open a mind as I could manage (though sitting at the end of an aisle juuuust in case I felt the need to save myself from an anger-induced aneurism). I then steeled myself and the film began - with a total black screen, the only audio being a 9/11 emergency 911 call. This was chilling and surprisingly effective.

And then the plot begins.

Let me say right now that Bigelow's other big cinematic claim to fame, The Hurt Locker, is a favorite of mine. This may not make sense, seeing as how negative my feelings about ZD30 have been, but The Hurt Locker succeeded in my eyes because of how raw and emotionally-driven it was. It wasn't really a movie about war. It was a movie about man's obsession with war. The star, Jeremy Renner, played the war-loving soldier to perfection - a man so wrapped up in the violence and the honor and the blood that he isn't capable of living any other sort of life. As a person raised in a military family, I can tell you, this was as honest as it gets. My brother signed up for multiple tours, by choice, so that he could be out there, "doing his duty" and sometimes I think he wishes he was still there.

So I guess the question is this - how does ZD30 compare? Not very well, I must say. But let me start off with the positives:

Cinematically, it's beautiful to look at. The cinematography was interesting and complex. The music was sparse and added the right amount of emotional resonance - from the same composer responsible for the music of Tree of Life and Moonrise Kingdom, two of my favorite soundtracks from the last couple of years. And... that is all the nice things I have to say.

Here is the problem with this movie - and it's not even the problem I thought I'd have.... it is actually devoid of any narrative, emotionally interesting characters, meaningful character interactions.... Basically it's a rather stale laundry list of government fuck-ups that lead to the 8 year drawn out search for Osama Bin Laden. Bigelow has made a big production about the authenticity of this film (which, frankly, I find questionable because one of the few messages that I got loud and clear was, "Torture is very sad and unfortunate but we did it and it worked and we were right to do it." And that, again, stinks of propaganda). Bigelow seemed so focus on making everything as truthful as possible, she failed at creating a film that asked the audience (or itself) any of the hard questions - or, rather, the biggest one: was the search for Bin Laden worth it?

The protagonist of the film, Maya, is dogged and obsessed, which is to be expected, but lacks any sort of basic human complexities. She has no interest in friends, sex, love, or anything else outside of finding Osama Bin Laden. She has no personality. She is no more than a vessel to keep the plot moving forward. Well, the last ten minutes she finally showed us something but why did we have to wait that long?

Now with all that being said, I do think that the film is well-crafted in the sense that it is artistically compelling. As a former film student, it would be crazy for me not to recognize that. However, compelling or not, do I think this film is socially responsible? Absolutely not. First of all, if you decide you're going to make a movie like this, for better or worse, at least have the guts to SAY something meaningful. Second of all, I'm not a fan of the half documentary/half Hollywood "thinker" this film was. Meshing supposed facts and real footage in a glamorized and fictionalized Oscar whore... oops I mean, movie... it just feels so dishonest. Either be a work of dramatic fiction or be a documentary. Don't straddle the line. That is irresponsible filmmaking and bad journalism.

And in regards to this movie's agenda? I'll be fair here. I really don't think there is one, truly. It's worse than that if you ask me. It just sits there retelling a tale that we all know - albeit with insider information (which the CIA has denied being expressly involved in, so this is either them covering their asses - particularly in regards to the issue of sanctioning torture - or it's the filmmakers fibbing about just how much classified information they actually had access to), and it was a retelling without the bravery of a voice or commentary. Actually I don't know if it's cowardice or laziness. Either way, it's problematic.

All in all, I do think it's a movie worth seeing. First of all, I don't support fully criticizing something like this unless you have seen or experienced it yourself. Also, it does achieve some things, as previously stated, that are a cinematic success.

Praise for this movie has been almost universally positive so count me in the minority here with my opinions. If you don't agree, I encourage you to tell me why - I love a healthy debate and open dialogue. Give me your thoughts!

And if you read this whole post, well good grief! You must really like me!

- N

PS - Oh lest I forget. Knock another few points off this movie for how slickly it glossed over the U.S.-sanctioned drones. I honestly do love my country; I consider myself a Patriot and proud of it. But shame on you, Bigelow. Shame on you.