HOM Chats: Zero Dark Thirty - Nell

Ok...

Overall respose is that I think this is a good movie. Other thoughts:

1. Jessica Chastain is distractingly beautiful, to the point that I just couldn't quite believe her in that environment.

HOM: Yeah. I have thoughts about writing something that would carry a title along the lines of: "Where Have All the Hollywood Leading Ladies Gone?" The essay would be structured around the idea that there's probably too much content coming out of Hollywood that is just too plastic for there to be space for old school, silver screen enigmas. Ms. Hepburn came along at the right time. Jessica Chastain might could prove to have that kind of staying power and good looks. But I think the age of Hepburn is over. TMZ would have had her and Howard Hughes for lunch. Would men in their 60s still have framed photos of her in their basement if that was the case? Maybe Twitter and Facebook have made it impossible for Leading Ladies to have that kind of prominence. A cliche question would be to ask Chastain if she thinks that her attractiveness helps or hurts her. In this case, you might be saying that it hurts her. I wonder what she would say. 

2. Her hair is amazing, totally amazing, but completely unrealistic in this film

HOM: Interesting, that you notice something like this. You could interview me about this movie for a few hundred hours and I probably would never arrive at talking about her hair. 

3. Joel Egerton plays a really small part. Surprising. But then maybe people want to be in Kathryn Bigelow's movies so much they don't care - like Guy Pearce in the Hurt Locker - such a small part...

HOM: What is it about this phenomenon that is exciting for the cinephile? I love reading about stars foregoing paychecks just so they can work with certain directors and whatnot. Who else has this pull? Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam Sandler (ha), Scorsese? Oh, and what about the names that are doing this "Move #43"? Weird. It seems to be that the sign of an A-lister is if they show up in European or Asian commercials. Apparently they do it to free themselves up, financially speaking. This way they can pursue the projects they believe in. Geez.

4. I am surprised and pleased that it has been recognised so much by the Oscars, BAFTA's etc.

HOM: I like that you mention the BAFTA's and not the Golden Globes. I'm currently trying to figure out why I am so blah about awards season. I don't think anyone would disagree with me that the pomp of it is silly. But I still feel the need to say that I think it is silly. It's silly (but I always watch). 

5. About 2/3rds I thought needed cutting a little.

HOM: I noticed, more than usual, how the splicing was working or not working. I agree with you on this but then again I wonder (because I don't know much about film making) if K. Bigelow likes it that way.

6. I agree with someone I heard on the radio - I was totally gripped during the whole end sequence, even though everyone knew what was going to happen.

HOM: Yeah it was kind of meta in that we all knew what was going to happen but we wanted to see how K. Big was going to depict it. There is a story from my childhood that fits in here. My Mom tells it. She uses it to make the point that I was a very weird child and liked movies too much. I was like 9 or 10. As a family we were watching Jesus Christ Superstar. I fell asleep pre-crucifixion. In the morning I asked my Mom how it ended. My Mom was like, "Um, Kyle, sweetie. He gets crucified." I was all like, "Um, yeah, duh." Then we had a really cool conversation about how that movie pissed so many people off. We had the same conversation on steroids, years later, after my first viewing of The Last Temptation of Christ. Man. That movie is heavy. I won't give away the ending if you haven't seen it.

7. So weird, Elizabeth Bennett from the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice adaptation playing a CIA agent!

HOM: How did you manage to slip in a Colin First P&P reference? I have a friend from my grad program that's hilarious. She and I have this ultra-ultra-nerdy game that we play. In this game you have to be in the midst of a conversation in which a story is being told about something that has just happened in one of your lives. After the story, when it is time for the other party to weigh in on what should be done now that this event has happened, before weighing in, you riff on the options by starting your response with, "If we were in Pride and Prejudice you would have to..." Try this sometime. It's a whole bunch of nerdy fun.

8. Only one major thing is bugging me - did you think the Maya character was hard enough? I got the fact that this was her entire life, and she had the resolve and determination. And that she was supposed to be quite emotionless, but there was something that made me wonder if she had the really full on grit to do what she was expected to do in that job...?

HOM: Ya know, I don't know. I'm not sure that I can answer this one. There are two reasons why: 1) I'm a man and I'm not sure I can say how much grit a woman should have, 2) I don't know how much grit it takes to work in the CIA. With that said, I would imagine that the real Maya kicks major butt. I doubt she is as 'movie-star-looking' as Jessica Chastain. So maybe I'm agreeing with you. I think I am.

9. Massive lack of music, I think that's hard to pull off, and yet it didn't annoy me so musta have worked.

HOM: Yeah, K big has this locked down. Respect.

10. Interested in US response to it - is it seen as having a political point to make?

HOM: I think what's so cool about this movie is that it is undoubtedly political. However, it is prefaced with the prompt, "To what extent is this a political movie?" And this premise is genuine in that it's not supposed to be leading. I think the movie allows the war hungry, patriot to stand up and cheer while also giving the NPR listener the space to sit and contemplate on the vastness of global terrorism, torture and war. In my opinion, that's one reason why this movie is great. 

Think that's it.

HOM: Cool. That's it for me, too. Good talk.