Zero Dark Thirty Movie Review

Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorists carried out the most heinous act of violence and murder in our nation’s history on September 11, 2001.

The CIA are applying heavy duress on captured al-Qaeda associates in order to obtain any leads on bin Laden and to prevent further attacks. Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a new CIA operative, reluctant to participate in prisoner torture, but believes it’s their only method for obtaining the information needed.

Maya embarks on a decade-long obsession to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Her main lead is bin Laden’s personal courier, the one name that always pops up in an interrogation, Abu Ahmed. Through these years, the CIA experienced broken leads, continued violence, and utter failure. Maya’s persistence and faith in her ability, lead to Osama bin Laden’s death, at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs in May of 2011.

Kathryn Bigelow puts her best foot forward in Zero Dark Thirty. Despite her recent Academy Awards Best Director snub, Zero Dark Thirty is a compelling look at the decade-long manhunt for America’s most wanted.

Jessica Chastain was Oscar nominated for her role in Zero Dark Thirty and deserving of the accolade. There is a heavy-hitting supporting cast, but this is Chastain’s film. Her performance is fitting of Maya, said to be highly intelligent and independent.

In fairness, Zero Dark Thirty feels 20 minutes too long and it’s an extremely slow burn leading to bin Laden’s death. Perhaps this is because of the emotion this man’s actions elicit from all of us, and you look forward to his demise. As in reality, it doesn’t happen soon enough.