Zero Dark Thirty

When I watch a movie, the last thing I would judge it on is Politics.

Also, it amazes me how personal people on here can become.

I thought it was a good movie.

The actors came across as credible.

It showed some of the ugly sides of war.

The story kept me alert.

It kept me awake.

It isn't perfect, however, which movie is? And at the end I felt fulfilled.

At the end, I guess you see what you want to see...

This (slightly) fictionalized dramatization of the decade-long hunt for Osama Bin Laden is often difficult to watch, for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean it isn't any good. It's just not your typically polished, glistening Hollywood rendition, and that takes a bit of getting used to. Flubbed lines are left in the final cut, which serves to humanize the cast. Quiet, unsuspecting character moments are unforgettably interrupted by sudden explosions of violence - effectively mimicking (or so I have to imagine) the bloodrush of a real-world terrorist assault. The methods of torture employed in America's hunt for Al-Qaeda's leader are brazenly featured, as are the mixed spoils of their occasional success. The first act points a firehose of information at the audience, leaving them just as overwhelmed and buried by minutiae as the lead. Jessica Chastain is fiery and confident in that role, essential traits for the complicated character she occupies, but the rest of the supporting cast fades into the wallpaper when she's around. The actual onslaught on Bin-Laden's compound, which eats up the last hour of the film, is the smoothest and most accessible scene by a longshot, remaining factual and vividly lifelike while also ratcheting up the pacing and the tension. As a whole, though, the film is well-acted and effective, but often slow and over-inflated. Though it paints just one side of the story, it refrains from drawing any final conclusions and instead leaves the viewer to deal with the validity of America's motives and methods.

It has been established, it wasn't torture or, quoting that dishonest euphemism, "enhanced interrogation" that took the intelligence community to Bin Laden. So, how is it possible that this film by intelligent people would perpetrate that lie? The film is technically brilliant but it becomes tedious because, naturally, we know the ending. The other strange fact is the casting of Jessica Chastain. She seems elsewhere, emotionally and otherwise. I couldn't connect with her, I was far too aware of the "acting" I see she's getting lots of acting nominations, I don't quite get it. Katheryn Bigelow at the helm does a truly extraordinary job, but I can't help, worrying that most people will take this as fact and, perhaps, the most important aspect is pure fiction. No tortured prisoner took us to Bin Laden, okay?

(1/10/13, one star) Kathryn Bigelow and her new movie Zero Dark Thirty deserve our universal contempt and condemnation for condoning torture. Bigelow revisits the darkest chapter in U.S. history (U.S. torture in the Middle East in the aftermath of 9/11) and dwells on it, not to condemn the actions of U.S. leaders who authorized this campaign of state terror against Muslim prisoners but rather to vindicate the torturers and justify the savagery that earned the undying enmity of millions of Arabs. Bigelow is too crafty to explicitly hold up criminals as heroes worthy of veneration but instead constructs a superficial veneer of faux-journalistic neutrality that will fool only the most gullible along with those anxious to buy into the dangerous delusion she is peddling. She dedicates large segments of her movie to portraying U.S. torturers as selfless patriots and their victims as homicidal maniacs, but not one minute to explaining why they attack us. Of course, we can't have Americans wondering what our government had been doing to make Muslims hate us so much. And with 9/11 our national descent into deceit, denial and self-delusion began, with no end in sight yet. According to the official myth still being perpetuated by our government and unconscionable propagandists like Bigelow, Muslim radicals are never rational actors but rather just crazed fanatics, to be tortured and destroyed like mad dogs. And now Bigelow compounds this ongoing national folly with the resurrection of its corollary Big Lie: torture of detainees is compatible with democracy, even necessary to protect it.

Torture is just another form of terrorism. When the state tortures detainees, it is state terrorism, directed ultimately against all humanity as well as against individual detainees. Torturers degrade and dehumanize themselves, their victims, and any society that tolerates their crimes. How can anyone claim victory over terrorism when they employ it themselves? Besides, torturers (most famously, the Nazi and Communist regimes in Germany and Russia) have always rationalized torture on grounds of public security, but have always ultimately used torture as a weapon to terrorize the public and crush political opposition. (Do we really want to emulate the Nazis and Communists?) In the long run, torturers are a more pernicious threat to both our security and our liberty than any Al Qaeda agent could ever hope to be.

Senator McCain is right when he says that Zero Dark Thirty gives our enemies powerful ammunition to use against us, especially if it garners awards. Audiences around the world will see the movie as confirmation that the horrors of Abu Ghraib reflect the real soul of America.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I actually did. With its length, complicated nature and incredible detail Zero Dark Thirty was a fantastic piece of work. Jessica Chastain was brilliant in the convincing centre piece of the narrative. It was long, starting strong, losing credit towards the middle but the final hour was terrific. Right down to the raid which was full of suspense and drama. Like the raid itself, it was a precise and scintillating piece of cinema. In the end it felt worth it, I have little interest in the context of its accuracies of the actual events, nor its controversy. In the scheme of things I watched for entertainment, and it delivered. If you're in the mood for something dramatic with a serious tone, watch Zero Dark Thirty.