A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011.
Kathryn Bigelow is my 3rd favourite director working today. Her unique style and pitch-perfect sense of pacing and tension are simply unparalleled in Hollywood today.
No director could have been better for this film. The Hurt Locker, another great film, was set in an extremely similar situation. Both films tackle terrorism in the middle east, and those who dedicate their lives to eradicating it, and both simply shred your nerves with tension.
Whilst The Hurt Locker delivered non-stop tension and action, Zero Dark Thirty takes a look at the people and the process behind the biggest, most important manhunt in history, and takes it's time to build the stakes over 2 hours before delivering one of the most nail-biting conclusions I've ever experienced.
A common misconception is that good cinematography has to look nice. That is totally incorrect. Saving Private Ryan, one of the best photographed war films ever, is grimy and sickening to look at, which only adds to the realism and heightens the audience's immersion. Zero Dark Thirty takes this technique to the next level; the deliberately unglamorous and dirty cinematography makes you feel as if you are there with the characters in this horrific environment. This is taken to the extreme in the final invasion, where everything is either barely visible in the dark, or tough to look at in the harsh, grainy night vision of the operatives. This adds to the unpredictablility of the environment, and put me on the edge of me seat for what felt like an eternity.
Jessica Chastain is very good as Maya, not great, but very good, and more than believeable enough to not be a distraction. The majority of the cast is of similar quality, apart from Jennifer Ehle as Jessica, who was the standout for me. She delivered her dialogue and acted in such a way that she simply melted into the realistic and gritty environment Bigelow created so masterfully.
Overall, I cant recommend this enough to someone looking for something slow, thoughtful and nerve-wracking; this definitely isn't for anyone wanting a fast paced action thriller. This film was right up my alley, and kept me glued to the screen the whole time, definitely check it out (and The Hurt Locker as well if you like it)
P.S. This blu ray cost me £0.01, and arrived in perfect condition. Thanks Amazon!
