★★★☆☆
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle
Synopsis: After the 9/11 attacks, Maya (Jessica Chastain), a CIA officer is reassigned to the US embassy in Pakistan to help the search for Osama bin Laden, possibly the most notorious and deadly terrorist in the world. A decade long struggle to find leads tests Maya's capabilities as an officier on one of the hardest manhunts ever, her ability to not let her emotions take her over in the face of tragedy and the strength of her voice and convictions against those who doubt her.
Zero Dark Thirty is one of those films I'll never really be sure about - and not because of the ambiguity of the ending. The ambiguity lies in what we're meant to take away from this dramatisation of a real life manhunt. Sure, it sticks to the facts more or less, but is this about Maya being a strong female power in a world dominated by men? I'm not so sure that was the intention but that's what I took away from this. Maya is strong, fierce, independent and pushes her colleagues to persistently hear her and focus on the task at hand but ultimately she takes entirely too much credit for finding Bin Laden simply because she feels that she hasn't been taken seriously enough. Jessica Chastain definitely plays this role well but I feel like she can do so much more than this and this role limited her to being completely stone-faced and not dimensional enough. Other characters also seemed to float in and out with no real motive or inner conflict that made them interesting or even needed. At times, the script fell apart and included bizarre dialogue that didn't really have any purpose (or failed at whatever it was intended for). Almost every character was some kind of catalyst for the narrative and that really put me off. I did enjoy this film but it was far too long and the payoff was only okay. There was no real punch. Entertaining but disappointing.
I did get the impression that Maya was supposed to be a strong, inspirational female figure in the film. It reminded me very much of Homeland, obviously because they're both about terrorism but also because the protagonist is a woman who has to fight to be heard over the opinions of her male colleagues. Carrie in Homeland is criticised for her sensitivity and for becoming too emotionally involved - qualities that are often seen as inherently "feminine" - but ultimately these qualities always benefit her. Her hunches are almost always right. Zero Dark Thirty for me didn't have the same impact simply because it was attempting a similar thing but not doing it as well. I also agree with your points about it being too long and drawn-out. The story was interesting but too much superfluous information made it dull.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Homeland but I know about it, and now that you mention it they do seem very similar. Yeah, I understand they wanted it long to make us see how much time and effort went into catching him, but there was so much information and a lot of the script became dull. Scenes that were supposed to be Maya trying to keep it together knowing the dangers she faced ultimately ended up feeling artificial and failed at to trying to make her more human than robot. I just couldn't empathise with her, or feel for her, because there wasn't enough shown about *her* to give me a reason to.
DeleteAlso I just noticed that I am in your blogroll at the side there, thanks very much for that!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :D
DeleteI know I'm late to your blog, but I really wish that Katherine Bigelow would try another type of movie other than a military story. I haven't seen either, but I've had no desire to see either the The Hurt Locker or this film. Do you think she'd do well if she tried something else?
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame you don't wanna see The Hurt Locker! It's a pretty amazing film. Her films tend to focus more on the emotional trauma in the heat of the moment when it comes to war/terrorism. I think Bigelow knows her strengths here and she should stick to why she's passionate about. She is making great progress in the representation of females in the film industry and she was the first female to win a Best Director Oscar! She's doing pretty damn well already. She is more about the emotions/ethical issues than the action in her films anyway. But we'll see what she comes up with next.
DeleteShe HAS done other films besides these two, check out her filmography: IMDB