TPM Reader MR has more in our discussion of Zero Dark Thirty and torture …
Like other responders, I’m also a produced screenwriter. In resp to the various ZD30 comments:
1) IMO, Bigelow & Boal purposely played it down the middle and captured very well the public’s ambiguous attitude toward torture, and the fog surrounding its efficacy. The fact that serious people are having serious, good faith disagreements about B+B’s intent seems proof of that.
2) I think the ambiguous ending (Maya alone) also aims at the larger, ambiguous/problematic point that they’re trying to make about the entire war(s) and hunt for OBL. I live 2 blocks from WTC and it’s great OBL is gone, and issues of justice & reputation demanded we get him…but let’s face it: at the end of the day this was a 10-year, many billion dollar undertaking by the most powerful military in history in order to assassinate one old sick man. When Maya’s alone at the end, the obvious questions are: “What did we just accomplish?” and “Was it all worth it?” which are, of course, two questions all sensible Americans are asking about Iraq & Afghanistan.
3) As for Argo v ZD30: I loved Argo; it was an old-time Hollywood film, and everything about it was well done. Nonetheless, you’re right: no comparison. Thirty years from now people will still be watching ZD30 and no one will remember Argo.
4) Along those lines, the last act (the raid) is waaaay too long and far less dramatic than Bigelow could’ve made it given her well-proven chops. I think she purposely took the time/money/research to recreate the raid as exactly as possible, with the idea being that years from now ZD30 would be the most complete historical documentation (of sorts) of the raid. (And she’s probably right.)
5) And yes, of course all the howling was all about BHO; the congressional hearings about CIA leaks to Bigelow were shut down the day after the election. Ah, your tax dollars at work…
