Zero Dark Thirty (2012) * * *

Directed by:  Kathryn Bigelow

Starring:  Jessica Chastain, James Gandolfini, Joel Edgerton

Osama Bin Laden's death on May 1, 2011 came probably as a shock to most people.    The trail had gone so cold that it was assumed American intelligence had given up on searching for him.     According to the narrative of Zero Dark Thirty, the search continued all over the Middle East in an effort was years in the making.     Some leads were followed, others not, and some captured detainees were tortured for information that was sketchy at best.   As one CIA agent says to another during a coffee break, "How's the needle in the haystack coming along?"   Actually, trying to locate Bin Laden in that morass was equivalent to finding a needle in a stack of needles.

Zero Dark Thirty's protagonist is Maya (Chastain) whose single-minded, tireless hunt for Bin Laden resulted in his death during a raid on his compound in Pakistan.   At least, that's according to the movie, and although there is a disclaimer in the film's prologue stating the film was based on firsthand accounts, you never quite know what was beefed up for dramatic license.  

My feelings on the film are mixed.   I admired the technical aspects and its professionalism, but I wasn't as emotionally involved as I expected.    The film runs nearly 2 hours, 45 minutes and I wouldn't have minded the first hour being condensed into a briefer narrative.    The opening of the film contains jargon and names thrown about as if we should be instantly familiar with them.    The film picks up more momentum when, while tracking a known Al-Qaeda courier, the CIA stumbles on a compound which may house the hiding Bin Laden. 

The compound, to the surprise of Maya and the rest of the CIA, was located in a residential area and only about a mile from "Pakistan's West Point".    Did the neighbors know that Bin Laden stayed there?   The compound blew the belief that Bin Laden was hiding in a cave somehwere right out of the water.    It was learned that Bin Laden didn't go out at all and only had contact with the outside through a courier, but it was a relatively comfortable living arrangement.    Beats a cave that's for sure.

Maya is convinced that Bin Laden lives there.   The rest of her colleagues, including CIA chief Leon Panetta (Gandolfini), have their doubts and with good reason.   Imagine what a foreign & public relations nightmare there would've been with Pakistan (an ally) if the compound was invaded and Bin Laden wasn't there.    One of the elements that adds to the suspense of the Navy Seals raid is that, according to the film, there wasn't 100% certainty (except from Maya) that Bin Laden was actually there.    The SEALS were sent in as "canaries" which essentially meant they were going to find out for the CIA whether Bin Laden was there.

The performances are solid here.   I felt Chastain's character was one-dimensional and thus the performance can only hit so high of an emotional arc.   She handles it well, however.    The film mostly sees the characters in terms of their jobs and their search for terrorists.   I suppose it's a blessing that we're not inundated with scenes depicting the characters' family lives, since they wouldn't have really added much.    Zero Dark Thirty is focused on one thing, much like Maya, which is documenting how Bin Laden was found and what we now know historically was the outcome of that tireless search.