Zero Dark Thirty

Movie Name: Zero Dark Thirty
Year of Release: 2012

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Stars: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, James Gandolfini, Edgar Ramirez, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Harold Perrineau, Mark Duplass, John Barrowman, Stephen Dillane

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 9

Synopsis:

Director Kathryn Bigelow's follow up to the Oscar winning "The Hurt Locker", is another stellar example of what a fantastic filmmaker she is. The film details the long process of capturing Bin Laden, seen primarily through the eyes of a young analyst named Maya. Maya's resilience and driven determination are the core of the film, which goes to great lengths to paint a vast canvas of how many people and logistics were involved in making that event occur.
Kathryn Bigelow has always been a terrific filmmaker with a capability to create a narrative thread anchored in strong characters that are always inserted in a reality that is almost at odds with them. That was a strong point in "Point Break", "Strange Days" and even "The Weight of Water". "Zero Dark Thirty" builds a strong narrative based on facts that are well known by the general audience, but it gives it a human dimension by making us, the viewers, share the plight of Maya, the main analyst, whose life and dedication has been the completion of that mission. The labyrinth the film presents is as intricate as is the unraveling that slowly occurs as the story unfolds. The film is fantastically well directed, with a great central performance from Jessica Chastain. A film not to be missed.