Zero Dark Thirty: Oscar favourite to sure loser?

The drama surrounding ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ has all the makings of a movie in itself.
 
A US Central Intelligence Agency leak that saw classified documents land in the hands of Hollywood filmmakers; a script that promotes America as one with easy tolerance towards torture; and in the midst of it all is Osama bin Laden, the one-time most wanted man in history.
 
Directed and co-produced by Kathryn Bigelow, the thriller that currently has five Oscar nominations to its credit and a few Golden Globes ones, chronicles the brutal man-hunt that led to the capture and death of the world’s most wanted terrorist.
 
But it’s not the subject matter that’s stirred up the hornet’s nest, but rather the remorseless torture that one of the detainee’s in the film is subjected to at the hands of the CIA that paints America as a nation that is ‘pro torture’, according to some vocal critics.
 
Last week, Hollywood actor David Clennon, who called himself a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, wrote a post on Truth-out.org, stating that he would not vote for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, calling its content one that ‘condones torture’.
 
US Senators Dianne Feinstein and John McCain have been most vocal in their criticism, calling for an investigation into the filmmakers’ access to classified information; lending support are actors Martin Sheen and Ed Asner, who have appealed to the film fraternity to protest the film because of its suggestion that torture helped lead the CIA to Bin Laden.
 
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal has defended the film Friday, saying in the media that it does not advocate for the use of torture.
 
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ went on global release last Friday, with the film releasing in UAE cinemas on January 24.

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