What's striking is the absence of triumphalism -- Bigelow doesn't shy away from showing the victims shot down in cold blood in the compound -- and we come away with the overwhelming sense that this has been a grim, dark episode in our history.
Minimalism is a valid creative choice, but in this case, it renders an extraordinary story very ordinary. And the real-life heroes, flaws and all, were anything but.
While "Zero Dark Thirty" may offer political and moral arguing points aplenty, as well as vicarious thrills,as a film it's simply too much of a passable thing.
There's hardly a dull moment in Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar hopeful... is a skin-tight, effective procedural with a maddening focus on the CIA's decade-long manhunt of the elusive bin Laden.
No doubt Zero Dark Thirty serves a function by airing America's dirty laundry about detainee and torture programs, but in its wake, there's a crying need for a compassionate Coming Home to counter its brutal Deer Hunter.
As grueling as parts of it are, though, you may not love it. You may not even like it. But, regardless of your politics, you're all but guaranteed to appreciate it.
