Zero Dark Thirty Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Zero Dark Thirty
Year: 2012
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Country: US
Language: English

In 2009 Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for her ambitious and thought provoking The Hurt Locker at the Academy Awards. This year she does the same with the seemingly intense Zero Dark Thirty. Bigelow is an impressive woman, mainly because she's one of the few decent female directors who are in the Hollywood spotlight. Can any casual mainstream movie-goer name a female director other than her? I doubt it. I bring the importance of her gender into the mix because even though it's a film about capturing Osama, it is very pro-feminism.

The film follows Maya (Jessica Chastain) who is a CIA operative whose first experience is in the interrogation of prisoners following the Al Qaeda attacks against the U.S. on the 11th September 2001. She is a reluctant participant in extreme duress applied to the detainees, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics. She has the single minded determination to capture Osama,though many believe she is crazy.

Lets avoid discussing the obvious cliched lesson that "if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything" and focus on the character of Maya. She is an intelligent and determined women who doesn't ooze sexuality, this is extremely rare in a mainstream film. When a female co-worker asks if Maya has slept with any of the males she says "no" because she isn't that type of person. Maya can also stand up to the male authority figures, rather than be passive or let them hog the screen. She is powerful and her attitude towards capturing Osama is astonishing. If feminists needed to show a film example of a good female character, Maya would be exactly that.

The film, up until a certain point, is incredible on a technical level. Great editing, acting & pacing are essentially what make this film. Unfortunately this film doesn't have much of a plot, other than Maya confronting male authority figures and insisting that she can find Osama. The shaky cam and rapid movement during the scene in which they capture Osama is both confusing and a letdown because that is essentially the scene everybody came to see and it's the worst made scene in the film. The lack of political revelation was a disappointment too. The film said nothing useful about Osama and his attacks, or about terrorism in general. Just that people don't like America, something we knew a long time ago.

In conclusion, while there are nine films that have been nominated for "Best Picture" at the 2013 Academy Awards, I don't think Zero Dark Thirty is a good enough film to win. While there are certainly some good things about the film, like the feminist aspect, the negative things almost out-shadow them. It's an ok film, but it had the potential to be much better. At least Bigelow has The Hurt Locker in her filmography. 2.5/5