Zero Dark Thirty: A Review

Zero Dark Thirty

A Review

Masters of a genre..

Following The Hurt Locker's huge critical success in 2008, the Kathryn Bigalow/Mark Boal team have truly outdone themselves with Zero Dark Thirty. The director/writer pair have undoubtedly mastered this genre of film making, making their newest film deliver on all of your hopes and expectations, and then more.

I have been waiting for Zero Dark Thirty since first hearing about it. Then, since its release in the US in December, excitement and real anticipation has been brewing deep inside me. I went into the cinema with massive expectations (one of my great downfalls when it comes to enjoying a movie), but Zero Dark Thirty didn't come close to popping my excitement bubble.

[spoilers ahead]

The movie was originally the story of the unsuccessful decade long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, but had to be re-written when the real-life capture of the terrorist mastermind had been captured and killed. The original story was shelved, and a new script was written from scratch.

The iteration that we see on the screen follows the decade-long story of Maya (Jessica Chastain), a fresh CIA agent recruited out of high school, as she pursues the head of Al Qaeda after the events of September 11, 2001. Maya is taken under Dan's wing (Jason Clark) at a black site in the Middle East, and quickly grows to be a veteran officer. Her experience in the field tells her to trust her gut instinct on certain clues and leads that ultimately lead her and the CIA to find Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. After months of heavy surveillance and Maya's certainty that Bin Laden is hiding inside, the President gives the go-ahead for a US Navy SEAL team to raid the compound, ultimately leading to the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

When you lie to me, I hurt you.

Zero Dark Thirty opens on a black screen. Sounds slowly filter in - distress calls from the Twin Tower attacks on September 11, 2001. The black screen forces you to listen and relive the terror of that day, an effect that would not be accomplished if the harrowing sounds were played over a video reel. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie, leaving you feeling on edge and with a yearning for justice, instead of revenge.

Now this movie has the unfortunate label of "the torture movie", and while there are very disturbing and convincingly acted torture scenes, the movie as a whole does not deserve this name. The way the film shows torture is not glorified and is not overdone, and therefore it doesn't deserve it's nickname. The US Government calls it "enhanced interrogation techniques", and insists that it didn't happen during the events shown in the movie. While this may or may not be true, the film obviously wants to dramatise some things. It's a movie! It's almost compulsory to have these scenes shown, and is done so in an appropriate manner.

From what I gather, the movie is very tight with the real events that went down. There has been some controversy about how exactly Mark Boal gained access to the information that may or may not be included in the film. You will notice how "real" it feels, despite not knowing a damned thing about what happened. Everything in the movie is uber-detailed, especially the compound raid scene, which feels extremely tactical and planned out. One thing we do know is that the movie spends around 25 minutes on the compound raid scene, which is just shy of the time it took for the real life event [IMDB].

For the most part, Zero Dark Thirty feels very discouraging. It makes you feel the hopelessness experienced by the characters on screen. Al Qaeda keeps bombing and bombing and taking and taking, and Maya and her team are barely breaking any new ground to prevent the attacks. You are forced into this sense of desperation. Couple that with the way the film creates suspense, and it becomes truly gripping. You continually shift your expectations, thinking "something" is coming (a car bombing, another terrorist attack, sudden gunfire), only to have nothing happen. This uncertainty lingers throughout the entirety of the film, and thrusts you into their world.

I'm the mother****** that found this place.

Jessica Chastain can turn anything into gold. She's a massive star right now, and delivers her most stunning performance yet in Zero Dark Thirty. She has used her background as the quintessential mother figure to bring a softness to her character Maya, but is still so single-minded and driven. The scene that truly shows this is shown below:

Chastain's performance is spectacular throughout the entire movie. Not once did it feel like something she's done before, nor did it ever feel like Claire Danes' performance in Homeland, which both surprised and relieved me. 

Chastain is completely believable right up until the end, and her performance at the end of the film concretes her new found stardom. The scene I refer to is the very last one, where the movie's conclusion can be interpreted in a number of ways. However I think it can be agreed that the end scene is a real "What now?" moment for Maya, Chastain's character. An emotional Maya is sitting alone on a plane, and the pilot asks her where she wants to go, to which he receives no reply. Maya is lost - she's just spent twelve years hunting for the man who took so many lives, only to have him killed so unceremoniously. After so long dedicating her life to this, she doesn't know where to go, or what to do with her life.

You can help yourself by being truthful.

The only criticism I have for this film is Chris Pratt, from Parks and Recreation. I heavily associate him with the comedy scene, and when he popped up as a member of the SEAL team that takes down Bin Laden it made me think, "Ok, this could work", but then he spoke. He's doing the same thing he does in everything he does, and removed me from the reality the movie propelled me into.

Despite that one complaint, Zero Dark Thirty is a fantastic watch. It thrusts you into this world and makes you feel uncertain, anxious and thrilled at the same time. Plus seeing this on the big screen really paid off. Whoever pirates this movie is missing out on fifty percent of the experience. Zero Dark Thirty is loud - the force of the automatic weapons, the rumble of car bomb explosions, the chopping of helicopter blades - it is all amplified in the cinema, and truly makes the room around you rumble and vibrate as if you were inside their world, and feels incredibly real. And if you won't watch for the experience, watch for Jessica Chastain. Brilliance.

Zero Dark Thirty: 4.5 out of 5 zero dark 'staches

Take Shelter

Take Shelter

A Review

You know deep inside when you love a film. You feel the warmth in your heart at the very thought of it, you want to talk about it for hours and tell everyone to see it. Take Shelter is that film for me. This is my third, maybe second favourite movie of the year (behind 50/50 and The Perks of Being a Wallflower). This film is dark and confused, and it definitely doesn't have the warm, "feel good" presence that my other favourite films have. Take Shelter is different, in a good way.

Take Shelter is directed by Jeff Nichols, a relatively new guy on the scene. He's written and directed a few films, all of which give Michael Shannon a big role. I'm really looking forward to his new film Mud, which has the same look (may develop into a signature look and feel for his films), although it's a completely different story. #watchlist

"Take Shelter" is about a man named Curtis (Michael Shannon, Boardwalk Empire), who is haunted by a series of dreams of the coming apocalypse. Fearing the visions will become reality, he builds a storm shelter to protect his family (Jessica Chastain as his wife and Tova Stewart as their daughter). The film follows Curtis's decline into what may be a schizophrenic condition (or is it...?), and the effects this has on his family, friends and employment as he acts out as a result of his visions.

[spoilers ahead]

The movie kind of harks back to the story of Noah. The dreams and visions that haunt Curtis subconsciously convince him to prepare for the coming apocalypse. He feels that there may be "something big" coming, and that he must be prepared to keep his family safe in that event. Curtis is ridiculed by the town, and does not have the support of his wife for building the storm shelter and for pouring everything he has into it.

I should highlight that Curtis's daughter is deaf (not sure if she's been born deaf or is deaf from other causes), and Curtis fears strongly for his daughter's safety (but doesn't really fall into the overprotective category), thus reinforcing his urge to complete the shelter.

Both Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain give stunning performances in Take Shelter. Michael embodies this character, and gives one of the best character portrayals I've seen. Very similar to his role in Boardwalk Empire, he plays a very straight face for the most part (though not as regimented as B.E.), then has moments of big emotion. His classic "crazy face" is really brought out in this film, and I really love the moment he publicly breaks down in anger and humiliation towards the climax of the film:

The structure of the American family unit is really highlighted in Take Shelter. Curtis is the man of the house. He is the primary income earner and head of the household, therefore he feels pressure to earn and provide for his family. Being the head of the classic "nuclear family", in one scene, he is told to "take care of [his] family, and handle [his] business". Samantha (Chastain), plays into the housewife role. She cooks her husband and daughter breakfast each day, cleans and takes care of the washing, organises the home schedule with appointments and social events.

Both Samantha and Curtis have different priorities. Curtis's main priority in the film is the long term commitment to protect his family in building the storm shelter. Samantha's main priority lies with the immediate care of their daughter, with organising a cochlear ear implant operation that they've been saving up for. So obviously when she finds out that Curtis had refinanced the mortgage to afford the "stupid tornado shelter", she is angry and upset that his priority doesn't lie where she thinks they should be.

Another example of the differing male & female / husband & wife dynamic is the scene where Samantha is looking at holiday homes for the family's annual beach holiday. She finds something she loves, thinks it's cute, close to the beach, safe for their daughter. She is over the moon, and doesn't worry about the price. She shows Curtis, and he's totally wanting all of those things, but then is turned off and worried about the price, knowing it's probably a stretch to afford it.

But enough deep analysis - I feel that I can more easily talk or argue my points in which I've attempted to convey above! One day I will do a scene by scene analysis...

One of the things I love the most about Take Shelter is the way the nightmare scenes have been pulled off. These scenes divide into two loves: the nightmare itself, and the way the film shows Curtis waking from these nightmares. The transition from "real life" to nightmare is seamless. The nightmare cuts in, just like any other scene would - it's not obviously dreamy at first. Then, when things get real bad, it will cut to a scene of Curtis waking up in a state of terror.

My favourite nightmare cuts to a scene where it is raining "dirty rain" outside (this being one thing all the nightmares have in common), and Curtis and his daughter are driving in his truck. Because of the rain and the muck they can't see clearly out the front windscreen. Then all of a sudden, a figure appears on the road in front of them (love the "bwooom" sound effect here - so unsettling!), and Curtis swerves off the road and is knocked out. When he wakes up, he checks on his daughter, who is alright. But then you see the figure approaching in the background, then thumping on the car, then multiple figures, and they're all smashing windows trying to get into the car. One of them breaks the passenger window and steals his daughter. Screaming, he is held back by another figure. The shot then cuts to him screaming and waking up, back to being held back by the figure and screaming, back to waking and screaming, and to and fro, then finally wakes up in terror and shallow breathing, in a state of shock.

Once again, my explaining simply can't do justice. See below a clip of another great nightmare scene (the most surreal one at that):

Nearing the end of the film, the nightmares and social dramas finally culminate into the crest of the story: the storm. Curtis is woken from another nightmare by his wife to the sound of the local emergency siren. He hustles his family out into the newly completed shelter - the first time we get a good look inside - and hurries to fit them with breathing masks, as the storm batters above. After a few hours, Curtis wakes to the shock of his wife and child not wearing their masks. Samantha is quick to console him, assuring him it's okay to remove his mask too. He hesitates, and outwardly fears that the storm isn't yet over.. This is where Jessica Chastain makes her performance. Here, Samantha is the beacon that brings Curtis out of his disbelief and anxiety. This scene is also a great moment for Michael Shannon - his trembling hand as he feels from the inside of the storm shelter door to feel if the storm has ended - you feel his unbelief. Curtis tells his wife and repeats, "I'm sorry, I can't do it" and ushers the key to the door towards her, to which Samantha, the guiding light, responds firmly "I love you, but if I open the door then nothing's going to change. You'll see, everything's fine. But NOTHING will change. Please. This is what it means to stay with us.. This is something you have to do". Curtis winces at this, but wants to believe her. He slowly makes his way to the door, with the score reaching a crescendo, drama building up to this moment, he inserts the key, looks back at his family and asks them to keep back. Building his courage, and forging his way past his ultimate fear, forces open the door. Music abrubtly stops, the doors open to bright daylight. Curtis steps out and begins to break down in relief.

The next scene shows Curtis receiving help for what he is now convinced is a "condition", then quickly changes to him and his family at the beach on their annual vacation. This is the first time we see Curtis spending real, quality "fun time" with his daughter. Everything appears to be fine, he is receiving mental help, his family is on the mend, and then the score begins to build again. It begins raining the dirty rain, and an apocalyptic storm is forming over the water. Samantha and Curtis exchange nods, with Samantha saying to Curtis "Okay." [end movie]

This ending is the "Inception" ending. You could speculate all day, and maybe nobody is correct. Point being, this movie could have done well without the ending. BUT it wouldn't have been as memorable! My personal opinion: We are seeing this scene primarily through Samantha's eyes, rather than Curtis's, and this suggests to me that this stormy ending is literal. It is not another nightmare as we've previously seen from Curtis's point of view. Samantha says "Okay" in acknowledgment that Curtis is not crazy, but he has in fact been almost like a prophet to this storm.

So there you have it. I wish to break this film down even further, I feel there is much more to discuss. I will mention it again, I love this film. There's always this uneasiness throughout the film, which really reflects on Curtis's paranoia. I especially love the nightmare scenes, the come out of nowhere! The whole drama and cast of Take Shelter is epic. Please see this film. Official recommendation.