10 Films That Brilliantly Nailed Topical Issues
7. Zero Dark Thirty
An American produced film exploring the take down of one Osama Bin Laden sounded like the kind of Michael Bay flag waving nonsense that non Americans abhor. It therefore came as a mighty pleasant surprise when we were given this multi layered, introspective gem. The film's cleverness is in its focus on the battle between fighting extremism versus the human cost on both sides of the battle.
The film concentrates on CIA analyst Maya, portrayed with equal parts heart and authority by Jessica Chastain, who is tasked with leading the mission to take down Bin Laden. Her life is put on hold to take on this task, and as the years roll on she doesn't appear to be getting any closer to achieving her goal.
Director Kathryn Bigelow expertly realises scenes of brutal torture of Al Qaeda detainees alongside moments displaying the brutal murder of US agents by the terrorists. This allows the viewers to weigh up Maya's worries in regards to the seemingly harsh and cruel techniques used by US personnel, against the innocent slaughter of American agents and soldiers carrying out a noteworthy course of action.
The most powerful sense of the human cost however comes in a simple but moving moment at the film's conclusion, after Bin Laden has been successfully taken down. A final shot of Chastain's Maya sitting alone contemplating the events that had unfolded, makes us also ponder if at the end of the day all her time and effort was truly worth it.