Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 American action thriller war film directed byKathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. Billed as "the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man", the film dramatizes the decade-long manhunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after theSeptember 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. This search eventually leads to the discovery of his compound in Pakistan, and the military raid on it that resulted in his death on May 2, 2011.
The film stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle,Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Édgar Ramírez and James Gandolfini.[4][5] It was produced by Boal, Bigelow, and Megan Ellison, and was independently financed by Ellison's Annapurna Pictures. The film had its premiere in Los Angeles, California on December 19, 2012 and had its wide release on January 11, 2013.[6]
Zero Dark Thirty received wide critical acclaim, and was nominated for fiveAcademy Awards at the 85th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Chastain), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, and won the award for Best Sound Editing. Zero Dark Thirty earned four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, andBest Screenplay, with Jessica Chastain winning the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
The film's depiction of enhanced interrogation generated controversy, with some critics describing it as pro-torture propaganda, as the interrogations are shown producing reliably useful and accurate information.[7][8][9][10] Michael Morell, acting C.I.A. director stated "The film creates the strong impression that the enhanced interrogation techniques ... were the key to finding bin Laden. That impression is false."[11] Other critics described it as an anti-torture exposure of interrogation practices.[12][13]
Republican Congressman Peter T. King charged that the filmmakers were given improper access to classified materials, which they denied.[14] An unreleased draft IG report published by the Project on Government Oversightin June 2013 stated that former C.I.A. Director Leon Panetta discussedclassified information during an awards ceremony for the SEAL team that carried out the raid on the bin Laden compound. Unbeknownst to Panetta, screenwriter Mark Boal was among the 1300 present during the ceremony.[15]
