Zero Dark Thirty is based on the true story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and the movie's title has real-life significance. The Kathryn Bigelow-directed film is a thriller winding across years as the American intelligence apparatus struggles to discover the location of Osama bin Laden. In Zero Dark Thirty, Jessica Chastain plays Maya Harris as the CIA analyst in charge of the operation, and her single-minded pursuit of the terrorist causes more mental and emotional strain than she is initially prepared for. The dark places Maya's journey takes her provide the core of the story.
Like Kathryn Bigelow's previous war film, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty has a commitment to being as realistic as possible. Zero Dark Thirty was accused of exaggerating some of the details, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Even so, the tone and the language used are highly specific and effectively transport the audience into a counterintelligence world that they may not be familiar with. This goes into the title of the film as well. Zero Dark Thirty may sound like a title just made to be ominous, but it has an important significance to the story.
Zero Dark Thirty's Real-Life Meaning
In military parlance, the title of the film Zero Dark Thirty has two similar meanings that relate to the same idea. For the of Delta Squad — a cast of burly men that includes Chris Pratt in an oft-forgotten movie role — it can refer to 00:30 in military time (via The Guardian). "Zero" is synonymous with 00:00 and "Thirty" refers to 00:30. The "Dark" in the title is why the meaning is not agreed upon. "Dark" refers to something that takes place in the nighttime hours. It's a vague term for when a military operation knows when something will happen but doesn't find it important to state the exact time.
The Title Zero Dark Thirty's Significance To The Film
The title of Zero Dark Thirty has multiple meanings in the intense thriller. It primarily acts as a clue to the resolution of the movie. The military and intelligence division discover where Osama bin Laden is, and their operation to assassinate him takes place at "Zero Dark Thirty" under the cover of night. Jessica Chastain, in one of her best roles, plays a character fixated on figuring out how, where, and when they can complete their mission. It's a title that hints at what the resolution will look like while also summing up the themes of the story.
It sounds sinister, the word "dark" actually being in the title of Zero Dark Thirty. It sets a foreboding mood before the movie even starts, and it sounds like the type of robotic language that would be uttered by hardened military operators. A phrase like "Zero Dark Thirty" conveys something unknowable and dangerous, for both bin Laden and those chasing him. If the movie had been titled something like "The Bin Laden Raid," it would have effectively described the plot, but it would not imply the mutual corruption that occurs in the film like Zero Dark Thirty does.
