Stepping over the question of whether Hitler’s favourite film-maker Leni Riefenstahl was actually a “great artist,” Wolfe’s attack on Bigelow shows the tenor of the times. Wolfe stopped short of comparing Bigelow to Hitler, but only just.
Through the apparent magic of cinema, Zero Dark Thirty has transported American politics back to its darkest days, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Most loathsomely for pundits like Wolfe, they are the days when George W. Bush was in power, and the new movie has re-opened and re-salted many old wounds. Zero Dark Thirty has become a political football, and all the old gang want to kick it.
The movie has been praised by those involved in the search for bin Laden and the US commando raid that killed him, but condemned by those who say it’s a pro-CIA whitewash of events. It also enjoys the accolade of being banned in Pakistan.
So what’s the fuss about? Well, Zero Dark Thirty ain’t no Triumph of the Will – more like Triumph of the Dull.
Apart from the aforesaid torture scenes, which do go on a bit, there’s: a bomb blast scene; a shooting massacre scene; and about 10 minutes at the end where the US Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan takes place. A lot of the rest seems to be about office politics.
There’s not much of a plot – CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) thinks she’s right about everything; and it turns out she is, to the chagrin of the stupid-male establishment.
Chastain changes wigs a few times, which may be some sort of brilliant disguise, or it serves to let the audience know that a few years have passed and this is now a different interrogation at a different CIA “black site.”
There’s a vague element of mystery – “where’s Osama?” – but no sense of suspense, until the raid starts. And we already know the outcome of that.
Director Bigelow and scriptwriter Mark Boal defend their movie as “part documentary”, and the story “of the greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man.”
Real life can’t be expected to imitate art, but Zero Dark Thirty fails to deliver on its dramatic promise.
3 Stars
Director:
Kathryn Bigelow
Starring:
Jessica Chastain
Jason Clarke
Joel Edgerton
James Gandolfini
Running time:
160 minutes