Zero Dark Thrity

The best movies excite you while you are in the seat and then, after you are safely back in your world, keep disturbing your thoughts. Zero Dark Thirty is one of those movies.
It is engaging to watch. It feels slightly too long, but that enhances the experience by reenforcing the too long nature of the search. The cinematography is dark. Even the sound, mostly quiet, except when it needs to be loud, draw you in. Jessica Chastain's performance is subtle and does an excellent job of depicting a driven person's descent into a dark place. It is not simply that moral lines may have been crossed; it is the monomania that possesses her. There is no space left in her life for anything but the hunt. The final scene is a complex release of grief and joy and fear. The mission is complete, but now what?
During the movie you do not really have the space to consider the morality of what is happening. The movie goes out of its way to stay neutral on the subject of torture. Later though it makes you think.... I am, personally, not a believer in torture; however, I am also a cynic and understand why it happens. One does not need to be evil to torture a witness, nor does one need to morally lax to consider that it may be OK. My position is rational; I don't think it provides good information. I would certainly say anything to make pain stop regardless of its truth and believe that is how pretty much everybody works. The film, despite all the crazy media uproar to the contrary, is neutral on the subject. Torture happens and, as it was in real life, some of the characters believe that it was effective. On the flip side, it is made clear that the key piece of information does not come from torture. The film simply provides the audience a space to consider its merits.