Parents' Guide to

Zero Dark Thirty

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Intelligent, uncompromising drama is violent and complex.

Movie R 2012 157 minutes
Zero Dark Thirty Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 9 parent reviews

DreamWork2020
DreamWork2020 Adult
September 28, 2020
age 18+

Zero Dark Thirty is about the dark side of terror and humanity

Zero Dark Thirty is about the dark side of terror and humanity. The film exposes the cruelty of terror and the cruelty required to fight it. The commitment of people dedicated to eradicate horrible humans and the humanity of their friendships and souls are the powerful positive messages. Not for the faint hearted, but so is life!
Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of 0-year-old
November 19, 2017
age 16+

Yes

Raw, intricate, nuanced and pragmatic look into the war on terror stripped of politics and ulterior agendas. We see its toll on those involved and the trials and difficulties intelligence workers have to go thru to make breakthroughs even if they have to cross dangerous boundaries. Characters has multiple sides that play into and sometimes against eachother to meet ends. The final manhunt is as engrossing as possible. Scenes of torture are disturbing (even moreso with the grounded depiction of terrorist prisoners) but not pornographically portrayed or even ouright shown. Terror attacks include shooting of people in an embasy with bloody wounds shown but not lingered on. The final stretch shows casualties both hostile and civilian as matter of fact as possible with bloody bools and bodies in the aftermaths. Somewhat frequent F words but its stretched put across 2:30+ hours
See all 9 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Following the 9/11 attacks on the United States, a CIA agent named Maya (Jessica Chastain) steps up the hunt for international terrorist Osama bin Laden. She witnesses the torture and "waterboarding" of one of bin Laden's underlings (possibly a nephew). And, over the next decade, the single-minded Maya follows many dead leads, loses many colleagues, and witnesses some devastating terrorist attacks. Yet even in her most painful defeats, she rarely wavers. She believes she has been spared from death to finish the job. Finally, she comes up with some fuzzy, tentative information as to where bin Laden may be hiding and, based on not much more than a strong hunch, launches her final attack.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (9):
Kids say (26):

Another filmmaker might have turned this material into either an exciting thriller or a serious condemnation of the whole brutal affair; director Kathryn Bigelow does both at the same time. Her unique insight into violence has been the hallmark of her entire remarkable career, and ZERO DARK THIRTY is perhaps the most complex and ambitious of all her films to date.

Bigelow's steadfastly apolitical movie asks the audience to consider both the usefulness and the horror of "waterboarding," both before and after it's outlawed. But that controversial element is only a small part of the greater whole. The movie follows the outline of a true-crime procedural, but with many more dead ends than successes, it takes on a certain tragic tone. Bigelow includes little moments of rest and pause to humanize and refocus her heroine. Then, the film's final 40-minute attack sequence -- and its aftermath -- is a tour de force. Zero Dark Thirty is a towering achievement.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Zero Dark Thirty's violence. What's the impact of the torture scenes? How are they different from the climactic invasion sequence? From the opening depiction of 9/11? How does the movie challenge viewers to think about all these different forms of violence?

  • What keeps Maya doing this job -- hunting for little clues that may lead to Osama bin Laden -- for so many years? Is she a role model? Is she worth rooting for?

  • How can Zero Dark Thirty be labeled? How would you describe it to your friends? Is a movie that's difficult to label better than one that's easy to label?

Movie Details

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