Zero Dark Thirty
- (December 19, 2012 – Limited; January 11, 2013 - Wide): R
Distributor: Sony
Pictures/Columbia Pictures
Opening Weekend Box Office
(Wide): #1 with $24,438,936
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $71,842,079
Gross Revenue: $79,542,079
Production Budget:
$40 million
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
With the tremendous critical and commercial success of The Hurt Locker, studio executives had to be salivating when it was first announced that Kathryn Bigelow would reunite with screenwriter Mark Boal to revisit the United States Military in Zero Dark Thirty. An added bonus included the fact that where the 2009 Best Picture Oscar winner flew into theaters largely under the radar and starred a then-largely-unknown Jeremy Renner, Bigelow’s newest project featured the increasingly popular Jessica Chastain and was a significant focus of media attention leading up to its release. In Hollywood, many agree that there is “no such thing as bad publicity,” and given the controversial subject matter and allegations of improper access of classified materials, the Distribution department at Sony Pictures Entertainment had to pray that the saying was going to hold true. Regardless of personal politics related to the actual hunt and capture of Osama bin Laden, even the staunchest of conspiracy theorists had to acknowledge that the edgy trailer and the pedigree of those involved virtually guaranteed a strong film. With five Academy Awards nominations and near-universal acclaim, Zero Dark Thirty was not a film to be missed, and at the very least, curiosity had to help fill theaters with those who respected the guts it took to tackle such a volatile subject.
Opening in 2003 during the prime post-9/11
hunt for al-Qaeda, Zero Dark Thirty
follows young CIA officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) as she focuses exclusively on
intelligence related to Osama bin Laden while she is stationed at the U.S.
Embassy in Pakistan. Regularly engaging
in brutal interrogations alongside fellow officers Dan (Jason Clarke) and
Jessica (Jennifer Ehle), Maya eventually identifies a detainee acquaintance
known as “Abu Ahmed,” who is believed to be the personal courier for bin Laden;
over the following years, Maya fixates exclusively on locating Ahmed. In the wake of increasingly violent terrorist
bombings that claim the lives of several fellow agents, Maya’s resolve only
increases, drawing the ire of CIA Islamabad Station Chief, Joseph Bradley (Kyle
Chandler), who, along with a number of senior officials, believes that the
courier lead is nothing more than a dead end.
Using bribery, tradecraft analysis, and phone surveillance, Maya
eventually locates Ahmed and tracks him to a large suburban compound in
Pakistan, which she believes serves as a safe house for bin Laden. Boldly sticking to her assertion in spite of bureaucratic
resistance, Maya eventually earns the blessing of Langley decision makers, and
a raid is approved for a U.S. Navy SEAL team led by the optimistic Squadron
Team Leader, Patrick (Joel Edgerton), to breach the compound, locate bin Laden,
vindicate years of work, and hopefully bring an end to the greatest manhunt in
history.
Regardless of a less-than-smooth
pre-release period, Kathryn Bigelow has struck gold yet again with Zero Dark Thirty, delivering an edgy an
nail-biting drama that is anchored with strong writing, brilliant direction,
and absolutely stellar acting. In light
of the overall quality of this film, Kathryn Bigelow’s snub for a Best Director
Oscar nomination is downright baffling, as she injected this story with genuine
tension, intensity, and pathos, all of which keep the audience fully engrossed…the
best example has to do with the terrorist bombing scenes, as they are downright
uncomfortable to watch, thereby emphasizing the danger and gravity of such
perilous situations. And, in terms of
acting, Jessica Chastain is downright mesmerizing…she was impressive in The Help and The Debt, but this time around, she trades-in the innocent
sweetness for a gritty and blunt determination that I didn’t know she
possessed; talk about playing against type and demonstrating a wonderful acting
range. Her frustration and obsession in
finding bin Laden combines with Bigelow’s pacing to fully immerse the audience
in the hunt, almost creating a mob mentality of patriotism that will keep you
truly amped once Seal Team Six descends on the stronghold in Pakistan. And yet, for all the positives inherent in
the acting and direction of Zero Dark
Thirty, a few small missteps weaken overall chances for the Best Picture
accolade, while a few controversial showcases still hinder overall mass appeal.
Because I enjoyed the build-up of
the hunt within Zero Dark Thirty so
much, one can imagine my level of disappointment with the squandered momentum
of the film’s final act, which, when combined with certain politically
incorrect elements, clashes significantly with overall expectations. Make no mistake, if you thought The Hurt Locker painted a somewhat
controversial viewpoint of wartime mentality, Zero Dark Thirty does anything but present a reputable account of
tactics used by the CIA… the torture scenes are downright uncomfortable to
watch, and I can see overly-PC audience members upset by the depiction. Granted, anyone who would be overly upset by
such a volatile film likely wouldn’t be in the theater in the first place, but
I still feel that a warning should be levied for those who are expecting an abashedly
pro-American, feel-good account of events.
And, for as exciting as the final minutes should have been during the
final raid executed by the Navy SEALS, the scene felt significantly
out-of-place in relation to the rest of the film’s intensity; whether that was
a function of the long running time remains to be seen, but you will notice the
marked shift in energy. In the end, the
film may not be perfect, but Zero Dark
Thirty still remains a ridiculously strong historical drama that showcases
top talent and serves as a deep commentary of events that have impacted
everyone’s history, regardless of political orientation.
In terms of box office performance,
Zero Dark Thirty entered the fold
with an extremely limited release that resulted in a truly outstanding
per-theater average, thereby setting expectations high for the financial
performance for future expanded engagements, even if foreign receipts were all
but guaranteed to be minimal. To be
fair, a first place opening under $25 million may not sound all that impressive
to those unfamiliar with the imperfect science of ticket sales, but for a
mid-January release with a modest $40 million budget, that is more than enough
to placate studio accountants. And let’s
not forget the boost in mass interest as Oscar Night draws nearer, not to
mention home media sales should the wartime thriller earn the best accolade of
the evening…hell, I know people going to see this film solely to spite The
Academy for their snub of Kathryn Bigelow.
At the very least, as much as I want to see Jennifer Lawrence take home
the Best Actress Oscar, I am glad that Jessica Chastain is definitely going to
make Lawrence fight for the honor.
Controversial and thrilling, if slightly imperfect, Zero Dark Thirty is more than deserving of the attention of the
mass public, so regardless of hesitancy related to the subject matter, it would
still be worth your time to give the film a chance.
Overall Recommendation: High
