By Helen Nuttall
I first heard about Kathryn Bigelow while mocking Point Break about ten years ago. A friend pointed out the director was female. I was kind of shocked - but then intrigued. I mean, it's the kind of testosterone-driven rubbish typical of, say, an early Joel Schumacher. It turns out that Bigelow is actually pretty good at making blokey movies, particularly those with police or military themes. And Zero Dark Thirty is as military as film-making gets.
There are parallels with Bigelow’s other award-winning Middle-East outing, The Hurt Locker. Both are gratingly believable, centre on a highly capable, focussed individual and tend to be a bit limp in the narrative department. But that’s ok. So Bigelow isn’t into character arcs and subplots. In the hands of other direct...ors this might make for some pretty boring viewing but Bigelow turns the subject into a kind of dramatised documentary, dividing the film into chapters that compellingly reveal the processes of American intelligence.
You never really feel you get to know anybody in this film which makes the outstanding performances kind of remarkable considering how little the actors have to create a character. Jessica Chastain reunites with her Lawless co-star, Aussie Jason Clarke with noteworthy look-ins from Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, James Gandolfini and Mark Strong. Spot Drazic from Hearthbreak High – otherwise known as Callan Mulvay – amongst the Navy SEALs.
Zero Dark Thirty has been criticised for its alleged condoning of torture but I don’t share that opinion. To me, the film strives to present processes accurately; repellent methods were used and often yielded results. Nor are there any obvious comments on female leadership in wartime – or the war on terror at all, for that matter. These facts were presented with reasonable impartiality.
Don’t expect a white-knuckle thriller, unrestrained bleeding or loads of Black Hawk Down action. It isn’t that kind of combat film. Zero Dark Thirty is mature, fascinating and understated - made all the more impressive by the fact that we all know the ending.
Four stars.
