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Unless you live in a cave (or perhaps in a compound in
Pakistan), you know how “Zero Dark Thirty” ends. There are no major twists.
There is no surprise ending. And yet, “Zero Dark Thirty” is riveting. It is
exactly what the previews say it is going to be, and still, you will not want
to miss even a little bit of this movie.
“Zero Dark Thirty” is about a woman named Maya (Jessica
Chastain). Maya is trying to find Osama Bin Laden, and not exactly to get his
autograph or anything. She is part of a CIA team dedicated solely to capturing
or killing the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
Maya is slight, but tough. She does not shrink from watching,
or even participating in, brutal interrogations (i.e., torture) in service of
her goal. Waterboarding, sleep depravation, beatings, starvation, and confinement
in super tight spaces: these are the lengths Maya and her cohort go to in order
to get information.
It is a bit like squeezing blood from a turnip, though. They
get some information, but not a lot. Years pass without progress. More innocent
people die. Al-Qaeda remains strong.
But Maya has a theory. On the basis of her research and “interviews”
with various detainees, Maya believes that the best way to get to Bin Laden is
to find one of the couriers that take messages to and from the al-Qaeda boss. And
Maya knows who one of these couriers is. Well, really all she knows is his fake
name and sort of what he looks like. Still, that’s not nothing.
Maya chases down every lead, considers every idea, and
entertains every possible scenario. She is tireless. Yet, it looks like her
idea is getting nowhere. Every time it seems like a lead is going to pan
out—every time a tip has the potential to bear fruit—nothing comes of it.
Then there is a break. Maya finds out exactly who Bin
Laden’s courier is, and through bribery, surveillance, and a whole lot of
guesswork, Maya and other CIA operatives track the courier to a compound in
Abbbottabad, Pakistan. Maya believes that this is where Bin Laden is hiding,
but she has no proof. She tries to convince others, but many remain skeptical.
Finally, after months of deliberation, the higher-ups decide
to go for it. The potential payoff is just too high. If there is any chance of
bringing down Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of 9/11,
they have to try.
You know the rest, of course. They find him. They kill him.
Mission accomplished.
“Zero Dark Thirty” is exactly what it had to be. It had to
be at least semi-accurate. It had to be dramatic but also serious. It had to be
gritty and complicated without being overly political. The story itself is
compelling; it doesn’t need embellishment. So “Zero Dark Thirty” just had to do
the story justice.
And it did. “Zero Dark Thirty” really tells the story well.
Even though you know what is going to happen, you still really want to know
what is going to happen. You want to see what comes next.
Now, “Zero Dark Thirty” is not an exceptional,
groundbreaking movie. It could not possibly be an exceptional, groundbreaking
movie. It is too limited by its genre and subject matter. You just cannot get
overly creative with the retelling of Bin Laden’s assassination. It is not
allowed.
So this movie’s ceiling is perhaps a bit lower. Nonetheless,
“Zero Dark Thirty” is a well-executed, thoroughly solid film.
