Zero Dark Thirty : Cold, grueling, vague
Kathryn Bigelow’s explorations of violence and machismo (“The Loveless“, “Point Break“, “The Hurt Locker“), have proven her to be a gifted and ambitious filmmaker. But something’s seriously amiss with her latest movie, major awards contender “Zero Dark Thirty“. Chronicling the ten year hunt for Osama Bin Laden and following dedicated if not obsessive CIA operative Maya (Jessica Chastain), you definitely can’t blame the film for turning history into a happy warrior action flick: It’s actually a rather sobering affair that has Maya crunch data, go through endless video recordings and interrogate suspects at “black sites“ year in, year out. The movie’s icy cold, pseudo-documentarian approach leaves the viewer unsatisfied – maybe intelligence work is grueling and joyless but why turn that into a movie without a convincing narrative, emotional grip or serious cinematic punch?
Bigelow’s refusal to shine a light on what’s real and what’s not in her film doesn’t help, neither that in the US both praise and criticism concentrate on its’ politics and “Zero Dark Thirty“s uncomfortable, but strangely vague portrayal of torture (convincing arguments can be made that the movie is all for or completely against the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques“). But all the discussions or the excellent cast and the importance of the subject don’t change the fact that as a film, “Zero Dark Thirty“ is a failure in almost every way. (Souchak)
P.S.: From the WTF? department – there’s a nonsensical, gung-ho “Medal of Honor“ tie-in with “Zero Dark Thirty“. Is that supposed to help sell a serious arthouse movie?
Bigelow’s refusal to shine a light on what’s real and what’s not in her film doesn’t help, neither that in the US both praise and criticism concentrate on its’ politics and “Zero Dark Thirty“s uncomfortable, but strangely vague portrayal of torture (convincing arguments can be made that the movie is all for or completely against the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques“). But all the discussions or the excellent cast and the importance of the subject don’t change the fact that as a film, “Zero Dark Thirty“ is a failure in almost every way. (Souchak)
P.S.: From the WTF? department – there’s a nonsensical, gung-ho “Medal of Honor“ tie-in with “Zero Dark Thirty“. Is that supposed to help sell a serious arthouse movie?