MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2: ZERO DARK THIRTY

"And to think – I'd be at home playing Call of Duty right now!" Members of the military swarm a compound believed to house the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, in a scene from director Kathryn Bigelow's ZERO DARK THIRTY. Credit: Jonathan Olley © 2012 Columbia Pictures. All Rights Reserved. 

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clark, Kyle Chandler, Mark Duplass, James Gandolfini, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Harrold Perrineau, Fares Fares, Jennifer Ehle and Reda Kateb

WRITER(S): Mark Boal

DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow

WEB SITE: http://www.zerodarkthirty-movie.com/

THE PLOT: Ripped from the real world headlines that shocked the world in 2011, Zero Dark Thirty stars Jessica Chastain as Maya, a CIA operative who is one of several in the Middle East charged with the arguably the hardest assignment in the agency's history: Finding the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden.

Arriving overseas, Maya learns the task of finding information is not a pretty one after watching Dan (Jason Clark) interrogate 9/11 financier Ammar (Reda Kateb). Working under the direction of director Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler), Maya and Dan - along with fellow operative Jessica (Jennifer Ehle), Maya feels she is getting close to tracking down what will be the key to catching Bin Laden ... Only to see lead after lead turn up empty.

But once she uncovers a lead that has the potential to to pay off dividends, Maya becomes steadfast in her task to bring the most wanted, dangerous man in the world to justice ...

THE TAKE: Directed by Kathryn Bigelow of The Hurt Locker fame, Zero Dark Thirty is presented as a "reported film," a.k.a. a near-documentary style of events based on the true events leading to Bin Laden's eventual death. (There is no way to spoil this story by telling you that, so if you were expecting to not read that, you are in the wrong place ... And looking to spend money on the wrong activity.)

The things that are most compelling about Zero Dark Thirty as a film experience is not that you know the outcome, but the way in which director Bigelow and the cast draw you in to the world of the CIA as it searched for the biggest proverbial needle in a haystack ever. Skill, luck and human error all had a contributing factor in Bin Laden's demise ... Zero Dark Thirty brings them to light in excellent fashion. Sure, there are a few moments where Chastain almost becomes a bit too much like The Bride in Kill Bill when she starts to let her need for personal revenge take over dialogue/performance-wise, but her effort in showcasing her character's dedication to her task drives the film well more often than not.

The main thing, however, that will make Zero Dark Thirty stick in your mind is what it doesn't do. It doesn't make it easy for you to digest what is or is not torture and what role it does/does not have in situations like this ... It doesn't ask you to pick sides about whether or not the American way of life is the "right" way of life as compared to the culture of the Middle East nor the way in which America does deals to get what it wants ... And it definitely doesn't attempt to glorify nor demonize the military, America's leaders or those caught in the middle. It doesn't do any of these things because in telling the story in the fashion it is told, you will be the one ultimately pondering all of these things, which is its ultimate triumph. Certainly, the film is pro-American in its subject matter, but its overall manner in creating tension, showing contrasting worlds and the behind-the-scenes nature of intelligence/military operations tone are effectively minimalistic and straightforward in stirring emotions past and present.

And Zero Dark Thirty, Bigelow proves there's nothing more dramatic than real life itself.

PARTING SHOT: A bit of a unique exercise in military intelligence (and the human experience when it comes to crime, punishment and patriotism), Zero Dark Thirty is a must-see ... But how you react to what you see may be the more interesting outcome of the film. 

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):