Bigelow, Chastain Shine in Bin Laden Manhunt

Maya (Jessica Chastain) takes charge of a decade-long manhunt to bring Osama Bin Laden down.

Imagine if Zero Dark Thirty was released two, perhaps three years ago, sticking to its original premise immersed in the crossfire of the 2001 Battle of Tora Bora. While focused on one decisive event in the capture of Osama Bin Laden, award-winning producers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal would have found themselves boxed in by one of the most nail-biting "to be continued" cliffhangers for the most significant manhunt in American history.

Fortunately, the hunt Bin Laden ended in May 2011 as he was permanently compromised in his Pakistani compound. But that's just the end of the decade-long story. Zero Dark Thirty covers a much larger scope, commencing with audio clips from the September 11th attacks. Heartbreaking to listen to, the 9/11 audio ultimately serves its purpose in establishing the gritty tone for the next 150 minutes as the CIA interrogates every level of Bin Laden's hierarchy.

Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty does everything in its power to be nothing like her Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker from 2009. Far superior in every way manageable, Zero Dark Thirty concentrates on Maya (Jessica Chastain), as a rookie CIA officer who breaks onto the scene fresh out of college. Initially, Maya's rookie stature brushes her off to the side as just another face assigned to the Bin Laden manhunt. But the near-impossible task to hunt down Bin Laden advances on as her lone-wolf show.

Hands down, Chastain gives the performance of the year as Maya, furthering her status as Hollywood's chameleon. Whether as Celia Foote in The Help, Maggie Beauford in Lawless or Annabel in Mama, Chastain  fully immerses her audiences with the uniqueness of the character rather than the glaring distraction that this is the same actress in another movie. The same goes for Maya in Zero Dark Thirty. Audiences don't see Jessica Chastain, rather a multi-faceted CIA officer who's cold-hearted and obsessive about her work on the outside while concealing fragility internally. In many instances, Maya challenging her superiors and male colleagues with her gut feeling and tracking down dead ends is what maintains the film's intensity for its 150 minute run time.

Bigelow and company don't attempt to overshadow Maya's obsessive pursuit for Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda sources with senseless action for the sake of conveying Zero Dark Thirty as an action-packed spiritual companion to The Hurt Locker. With the exception of a tightly edited final twenty minute night vision invasion on Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound, what keeps audiences glued for such a lengthy run time is the never-ending pursuit. Even with Maya pushed off to the side as SEAL Team Six takes center stage, her off-screen presence is felt throughout the covert attack.

Even with a handful of grunt work scenes in government offices, Bigelow never offers up a dull or dragging moment to take Zero Dark Thirty on a leisurely stroll through a decade of investigations. The slightest tension of deciding whether or not to go forth on Maya's hunches conjures nail-biting moments that affect the overall narrative arc. Yes, CIA officers sitting at a table planning strategies has an equal, but alternative dramatic weight as if this operation was fully fought on the front lines.

Zero Dark Thirty is not without its controversy and criticism. Flat out, the interrogation scenes are bound to offend portions of moviegoers. While difficult to watch at times, the usage of waterboarding in Zero Dark Thirty is a touchy subject. These scenes left Bigelow and Boal with a difficult decision, but ignoring the practice of waterboarding would have alienated audiences as would overuse. To meet satisfactory middle ground, Bigelow shows enough to get her point across, while not covertly brushing its existence under the rug to insult the facts.

Zero Dark Thirty feels more mainstream than Bigelow's previous film in scale and scope, surpassing its ability to tell the key points in the backbone of the Bin Laden manhunt by not rushing through a decade of crucial information. While hitting every part of the investigation is unfathomable onscreen, Bigelow keeps a tight focus on Maya and everything concerning the investigation centered around her. Even with characters coming and going at a moment's notice, it's all about one woman's determination and planning that made one of America's finest moments a success.

GRADE: A (10/10)