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6/24/2014

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - Bigelow makes the Bin Laden manhunt into suspenseful, debate-inspiring, intense contemporary cinema



+ Best War Movie of the Year

The really great, evocative poster for Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty


After 9/11, the Americans seek the responsible criminals in Afghanistan, Pakistan and surroundings. We follow their methods and the hunt, its losses and final goal: Osama Bin Laden.

Jessica Chastain fights in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty ...

Jessica Chastain (The Help (2011)) is outstanding as modern strong-woman Maya, who leads the manhunt. 

for America!

Also Jason Clarke (White House Down (2013)) has a memorable performance as a tough interrogator. 

Jason Clarke in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty

The film's general excitement is remarkable, given that we already know the outcome, (the concluding raid of Bin Laden's compound that resulted in his death had happened in May 2011 and changed everything about the movie that was already written and in pre-production at that time.) 
The explicit approach to highly controversial events and methods in Zero Dark Thirty, including torture, is laudable, and perhaps the film sheds some of the mystery and suspicion from many people's perception of America's activities abroad sine 9/11.
The last act of the film with the mission of raiding the house is a bit long, - which was fully accepted in '12, where the news interest and sensational curiosity value was still sky-high, but may be less so in years to come. - What did the Navy Seals do to get Bin Laden? Everyone wanted to know.
Detracting also from the greatness of Zero Dark Thirty, - [which is a military term for 30 minutes past midnight, both the time of the mission and the symbolic place of darkness wherein the whole ten year manhunt took place], - is its fictionally permissive account of reality while still claiming to show the true story.
Regardless, Zero Dark Thirty is an impressive feat and a suspenseful, troubling movie, which will interest anyone who wants to try to understand the post-9/11 era.
It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker (2008)), who has yet to find her next movie.

Related posts:

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]


See the very well-crafted trailer here, - which basically oversteps its limits, in saying that 'THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED'. Only the mission in the end is totally fact-based, while most other scenes have fiction layers involved


Budget: 40 mil. $
Box office: 138.7 mil. $
= Big hit (#1 in America in its wide release weekend)

What do you think of Zero Dark Thirty?
What would you like to see Bigelow tackle next?

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