Kathryn Bigelow has already given us a taste of her brand of gritty and intense cinema with The Hurt Locker. For her latest, she has taken the USA's capture of Osama Bin Laden as her subject matter and delivered another intense, hard-hitting and authentic movie replete with in-depth research. The greatest manhunt in history is among the greatest historical dramas produced.
The movie has been filmed in authentic locations including our own Chandigarh and Patiala, to pass off as Pakistan. The torture scenes early in the movie also give us a glimpse of what it is, to be involved in such operations. The last half hour or so of the movie when the US Navy Seals attack a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan suspecting that Osama is hidden in that house, is one truly gripping episode. This entire sequence is shown through the point of view of night-vision goggles and we are sent to the limits of anticipation as we eagerly wait to see Osama. But till the end, we aren't shown Osama's face properly, even after he is dead.
The movie's mainstay is Jessica Chastain as Maya, the CIA operative whose only motto in life is to nab Osama. Her character is inspirational as she is relentless and single minded in her focus. She knows when to raise her voice and when to play the ideal team member. When she says to the CIA director "I'm the motherfucker that found this place, sir.", it gives us an idea of how driven she is, to her goal of finding Osama. Her reactions after she comes to know that the Seals have successfully captured and killed Osama, are nice moments when the emotional load is lifted off her shoulders.
Jason Clarke as Dan holds the center-stage in the torture scenes in the prison and he has some memorable lines like "Can I be honest with you? I am bad fucking news. I'm not your friend. I'm not gonna help you. I'm gonna break you. Any questions?", "When you lie to me, I hurt you.", "This is what defeat looks like, bro. Your jihad is over.", "It's cool, that your strong and I respect it, I do. But in the end, everybody breaks, bro. It's biology."
Jennifer Ehle and Mark Strong also have their moments as part of the CIA. Ricky Sekhon plays Osama in a makeover which sadly isn't revealed in its entirety.
In all, this is another sharp movie by Kathryn Bigelow which doesn't waver one bit and is a must watch; such is its theme and authentic detailing. The movie is divided into appropriately named chapters, akin to Tarantino's style.
PS - Badly missed English subs, though.
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