Review: "Zero Dark Thirty"

This weekend I saw Zero Dark Thirty as part of my campaign to see all Oscar-nominated movies before the Awards ceremony. You may remember myself mentioning that Zero Dark Thirty will most certainly win the Academy Award for Best Picture because of both its timeliness and the fact Kathryn Bigelow won the award for Best Picture in 2009 for The Hurt Locker. I can now say, after seeing the film, that it lived up to my expectations and will most definitely be the Best Picture of the Year. The film follows CIA rookie Maya (Jessica Chastain) as she goes to Pakistan to work at the US Embassy is Islamabad, with the goal of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden. The film follows her as she attempts to find "Abu Ahmed," a well-known terrorist with links to bin Laden, to her following leads with the help of CIA surveillance, the discovery of the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and the final raid on the compound by SEAL Team Six (sidenote: one of the SEALs is played by Chris Pratt, better known to viewers of NBC's Parks and Recreation as dimwit Andy Dwyer). This is one of several movies of the year where we know the ending; it joins Argo and Lincoln are two others. However, what makes Zero Dark Thirty so compelling is how Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal make the film and show the process of hunting down bin Laden. The movie is very tense, especially in the scenes of waterboarding and other forms of torture, are executed on captured terrorists. Interestingly enough, there are exactly zero "Yeah, America!" moments, even during the final raid scene. This is okay; if you want a propaganda Navy SEAL film, go watch Act of Valor and stop reading this review right now. In terms of themes, the movie explores several, notably obsession in desperation, in terms of the manhunt. We spent ten years and billions of dollars to catch a single man, who committed an atrocious act. Yes, September 11th, 2001 hit home with us Americans; it was an act of war, no question. What Zero Dark Thirty does is provoke the audience to think, separating it from the mass of mindless military films. I also commend the acting of Jessica Chastain as fictional character Maya. While not real, she is developed seamlessly as the film progresses, from a soft rookie to a focused "single-tasker" fixed on catching bin Laden. I think in this way she symbolizes America post 9/11, as we became increasing fixated on capturing or killing bin Laden. Even the little things, like the bureaucracy of the Department of Defense and the CIA, make the film worth seeing. Some other interesting tidbits throughout the movie are its use of advanced technology. From the bizarre night-vision goggles, to the aerial drones and stealth helicopters, the phone tracking software, I was amazed by the types of technology utilized by the military in their search.
Now, the film has attracted partisan criticism, as well as audience criticism for its accuracy as to how well the film corresponds to what really happened in the manhunt for bin Laden. More often than not, the film is being compared to the firsthand SEAL account No Easy Day by Mark Owen. While I do not wish to become overly immersed in such arguments, I will say this: Zero Dark Thirty, much like Argo, is a dramatization, not a documentary. It's been fictionalized and beefed up by Boal and Bigelow to make it entertaining for an audience. Anyone who judges this movie entirely based on its historical accuracy is ignoring the finer dramatic and storytelling points made in the film.

Consensus: Zero Dark Thirty is a lean, visceral thriller rife with symbolism, character development, and perfectly captions the anger-ridden desperation of the American hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Rating: 5/5

Coming Up This Week

Sorry for the recent delay in posts. However, this week you can expect my review of Zero Dark Thirty and at least one analysis article: a compare/contrast of The Departed versus Reservoir Dogs. No specific dates, just expect to see some fresh content.

Popcorn Talk Oscar Picks

It's that time of year again: the Academy Award nominations are out! Ergo, I must make my predictions for who will take home Oscar gold and who will return empty-handed. Let us begin with the Visual Effects: I suspect Marvel's The Avengers will win, for this reason: only a few years ago, we couldn't even dream of an Avengers movie, so they fact we can make one now and have it actually be good is a feat worth celebrating. For Best Writing for an Adapted Screenplay, Argo is a clear contender. Yes, it's up against critical heavyweights like Lincoln (which had the most nominations, with twelve nominations) and Silver Linings Playbook, but the thrill and true-story basis of Argo should score it points with the Academy. For Best Original Screenplay, Django Unchained is a clear choice, given its win at the Golden Globes recently. Best Original Song will most likely go to another Golden Globe winner, Adele's "Skyfall" song for the latest installment in the 007 franchise, Skyfall. Production Design is a real difficult choice; Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, and Lincoln are all up for this award. I choose The Hobbit, mainly because Peter Jackson is an experienced director with set design and has shown in the past his skill in bringing Tolkien's fictional Middle-Earth to life with vigor and originality. For Best Cinematography, Django Unchained could win yet again, because of its use of unique perspectives and the ubiquitous Tarantino "trunk-shot."For best costume design, I expect a tight race between Anna Karenina and Les Miserables, due to their period-piece settings, but Les Miserables should come out on top. Now, I am quite conflicted on Best Director. I am very upset that Ben Affleck was not nominated for Argo (see below), and the dark horse Beasts of the Southern Wild was known as a contender. Lincoln is the best choice by far, being directed by Hollywood god Steven Spielberg. For Actor in a Supporting Role, previous winners Christoph Waltz (for Inglourious Basterds) and Alan Arkin (for Little Miss Sunshine) are in the mix, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserves the award for his riveting performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. For Best Supporting Actress there is no contest that Anne Hathaway should win. As a perfect Fantine in Les Miserables, she deserves the award for not only her acting but raw singing power. For Best Animated Film, I personally feel ParaNorman should win, despite my love for Disney/Pixar. ParaNorman both innovated filmmaking and even managed a decent story in the process, and deserves commendation. Now for the big guns: Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Picture. For starters, it's very impressive that Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated as a seven year old for her performance as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Nonetheless, I expect Naomi Watt to win the award for her performance in The Impossible, but I wouldn't discount Jennifer Lawrence for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. For Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis should win for his transcendent portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln. If he doesn't, I would be exceedingly surprised. Now for the big award: best picture. This year is a difficult choice. There is Argo, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, and Lincoln, among others up for grabs. Four of those movies, Argo, Silver Linings, Lincoln, and Django were among my favorites for the year. I consider Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Lincoln to be the main competitors. Les Mis had a somewhat target audience of musical-lovers, which limits its appeal. Conversely, Django, one of Tarantino's finest films, also has a bit of a target audience, which I am a part of. Now, Zero Dark Thirty is a contender especially for its timeliness, and is already a catalyst for debate, discussion, and, to an extent, how far we went to kill a single man. Argo has already won big at the Golden Globes and received rave reviews from audiences, critics, and vaguely-known bloggers alike. Lincoln's greatest strength is Daniel Day-Lewis as leading man and Spielberg's unparalleled directing prowess. Despite the fact I have yet to see it (read below), I am choosing Zero Dark Thirty for Best Picture, out of a superb selection of choices.

Now I have to talk about a couple of so-called "snubs" that were, in my opinion, completely unwarranted. Richard Gere had an Oscar-caliber performance for Arbitrage, for which didn't score a single nomination. I am very surprised by this, considering the warm reception he received from critics, particularly Roger Ebert. Leonardo DiCaprio, whom I mentioned a contender for Best Supporting Actor in my review for Django Unchained, also did not receive a nomination. This shocks me in particular, as he did a wonderful job as affluent psychopath Calvin Candie in Django Unchained. DiCaprio is known for his skill as an actor, such as in movies like The Aviator and The Departed. Ben Affleck's lack of a Best Director nomination is utterly shocking. Argo, only his third directorial effort, was a hit and Affleck is a talented director, even in earlier films like The Town and Gone Baby Gone. You must also take into account the fact that only a few years ago, Affleck was a b-list actor starring in films like Gigli, Jersey Girl, and The Sum of All Fears, and now he's crushing it, earning a Golden Globe. Looper's lack of a nomination I expected, but it still manages to disappoint me. Films like it are unfortunately disregarded by the Academy, mainly because of the genre. Looper is no doubt a genre film; it's a science-fiction pulp story that still manages to have some cerebral horsepower. It really is a shame that we don't see excellent films like Looper excel at the award shows, but hopefully we'll see the academy warm up to them as time goes on.

Director Analysis: Christopher Nolan

Here begins a special analysis series, where I take apart an actor or director's career, examine their style, and see how they've improved over the years, or if they haven't improved. For my first type of article in this style, I will be examining director Christopher Nolan, and his unique directing style. Nolan began his career with 2000's Memento, a psychological thriller starring Guy Pearce, Carrie Anne-Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. It follows Leonard Shelby (Pearce), a man without the ability to store new explicit memories. The film then shows the Leonard killed Teddy (Pantoliano), in an act of vengeance. It was critically acclaimed, and it was praised for its unique narrative structure and themes, which include those of memory, perception, grief, and revenge. It was nominated for Academy Awards, including those in screenwriting and film editing. Next was Insomnia in 2002, starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams  and Hilary Swank. Telling the story of a LAPD detective, Will Dormer (Pacino) brought in to  investigate the murder of a girl in a small Alaskan village, while Internal Affairs launches its own investigation on Dormer. It was the Hollywood adaptation of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, and was well-received by crtitics. Another film of his was The Prestige (2006), starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Scarlett Johansson. It tells the story of two magicians, Bale and Jackman, who compete for the best illusion, ending with tragic results. It features two actors who have since become Nolan mainstays, Christian Bale and Michael Caine. It was also positively received, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. In 2010, Nolan made Inception, as science-fiction heist film. In it, the main character, Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are thieves who are hired by corporations for espionage to break into people's minds. When they are hired by Saito (Ken Watanabe) to plant an idea in Robert Fisher's (Cillian Murphy) mind, they agree and hire a new team, including Eames (Tom Hardy) and Ariadne (Ellen Page), but Cobb has flashbacks to his dead wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard). It was inspired by Nolan's lucid dreaming (self-aware dreaming, for the uninitiated.), and was originally an 80 page treatment for a horror story about lucid dreaming. It was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography. Of course, his only series is also a classic take on an American icon. His Batman movie trilogy, starting with Batman Begins in 2005, then 2008's The Dark Knight, and ending in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises. Starring Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, each movie has been commercially successful, with The Dark Knight one of the highest grossing films of all time, and each movie has been positively received, with acclaim for the performances of the actors, particularly for Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, earning him a posthumous Oscar award. As a director, Nolan has had a rather eclectic palette of genres, ranging from superhero (the Dark Knight trilogy) to historical fiction (The Prestige). Nolan also has maintained many collaborators over the years: all of his films have featured Wally Pfister as cinematographer, and he has produced every film with his wife Emma Thomas starting with The Prestige, and has written every film with the help of his brother Jonathan. He also has used Hans Zimmer many times as the composer for his films, and typically uses the same actors, especially with Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard. No matter the film, Nolan manages to cut to the bone with many of his themes, even with his remake of Insomnia. His themes are typically dealing with human emotion and human nature, in contrast to metaphysics, as seen in movies like The Matrix. Memento is a movie that deals with not emotion or metaphysics, but memory and self perception, though Nolan does analyze one emotional theme: guilt. Guilt is a powerful concept in Christopher Nolan's movies, and are tentpoles in Inception, where Cobb reveals he has performed inception once before, on his wife Mal, at which point she killed herself and leads Cobb to blame himself, which leads to the climax. In The Dark Knight trilogy, Bruce Wayne, led by guilt over his parents' death, manifests itself into anger, which helps him become the Batman is the overarching theme of the trilogy. The Prestige is an analyzation of the human tendency to compete, and, if one competes too much or with the wrong intent, the tendency of competition to destroy a person and revert them to a primal shell of their former self. Nolan also does not shy away from making his films cerebral, offering an escape to audiences weary of the typical action-overdosed or shallow rom-com backwash of Hollywood. Nonetheless, his cinematography, often done without the assistance of computers, is visceral and defies reason. It is for this reason I say Nolan, as a filmaker, as yet to peak, and I look forward to his next films and especially his work as a producer for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel this summer.