Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
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A fictional CIA analyst's relentless pursuit of the al-Qaeda leader leads to a high-stakes military raid.
The story
Maya, a fictional CIA intelligence analyst, is tasked with the grueling mission of locating the al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, following the September 11 attacks. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt, beginning with her involvement in high-stakes interrogations at a black site. As she navigates the complexities of intelligence gathering and the risks of clandestine operations, her determination to find the terrorist leader grows. The narrative follows her journey through various international locations as she uncovers critical leads, ultimately culminating in the discovery of bin Laden's hidden compound in Pakistan and the subsequent U.S. military raid to neutralize him.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Maya, a CIA analyst, begins her mission in 2003 at a U.S. embassy in Pakistan, where she participates in the interrogation of Ammar, a detainee with links to the 9/11 hijackers. While the interrogation yields some information regarding a courier, it also leads to the identification of Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti. In 2005, Maya continues her work at a black site, attempting to interrogate Faraj. Following a series of events, including a deadly explosion at a hotel in Islamabad and the loss of a colleague in a 2009 sting operation, Maya redoubles her efforts. She eventually identifies a man named Ibrahim Sayeed as the courier. Despite his use of tradecraft, she and her team track him to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. After a gunman attack on her, she is briefly recalled to Washington. The CIA eventually places the Abbottabad compound under surveillance. On May 2, 2011, SEAL Team Six and the CIA's Special Activities Division raid the compound via stealth helicopters. They kill several people, including bin Laden. Maya confirms the identity of the corpse and is later seen alone on a military plane returning home.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 157
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kathryn Bigelow
- Writers
- Mark Boal · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jessica Chastain · Maya; Jason Clarke · Dan Fuller; Joel Edgerton · Patrick Grayston
- Genres
- political action thriller
- Themes
- war on terror; intelligence gathering; torture
- Tone and mood
- gripping; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- based on actual events; procedural
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim for its acting, direction, screenplay, sound design, and editing, and was a box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · scale: percentage · review count: 304; Metacritic · score: 95 · scale: 100 · review count: 46
- Production trivia
- The film's working title was For God and Country.; The film was included in several critics' top ten lists of 2012.; The film was included in the 2016 BBC list of the 57th greatest film since 2000.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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