Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty I was in a bad mood yesterday evening and not for just one reason. Our country had a presidential election and the politician I didn't like has again emerged victorious. Side effects of democracy I suppose but in this day and age I'm amazed how people can vote for this guy. And then there was a huge argument between my sister and mother (well actually more of my sister yelling at my mother) and I think it was caused because my mother said good things about me. My sister hates me you see and went full blast on my mother saying negative things about me - I guess since I haven't listened. My mother is old now and she doesn't need this aggression. I'll try not to say anything to mama from now and protect her from being shouted at (I'm actually doing that for years but sometimes I forget and complain and she tried to help me out and paid for it with probably a headache).

So I decided to give Zero Dark Thirty a go. Now I like Kathryn Bigelow films a lot and this one was no exception. It tells the story of how Usama Bin Ladin is sought and caught. The story is made a bit personal with focusing on one agent. At first she is a bit squeamish during the tortures but she knows that these people are a threat to her country and she must find and smoke them before they do more harm. And when these terrorists attack a camp base and kill her colleagues, it kind of gets personal for her. She is intelligent and driven and finds a clue that eventually leads the capture of Usama Bin Ladin. We witness the tracking, the decision making (to give US Governemnt credit, they take a lot of time deciding whether to take the risk of UBL not being in the house they will raid) and eventually the actual raid and killing of the terrorists.

This is a tour de force of a film and I loved to the last drop. Ms.Bigelow is one of the few directors who doesn't employ a clean cinematography and I still like. Everything was at the right dose, the music, the rythm and the editing. It doesn't annoy when we are cut to Agent Maya's face at the time of the raid, it accentuates the desire to go back right away and obliges the viewer with doing just that.

I liked the performances but then again Ms.Bigelow is good at getting worthy performances out of her actors. And it was great to see a female kicking various asses and only being sentimental at the very end.

This is highly recommended, especially if you liked The Hurt Locker, different tone but same expertise.