Kathryn Bigelow: Confident Amidst Controversy

As I sat through the equal parts critically-acclaimed and controversial Zero Dark Thirty last night, I couldn’t help but constantly think about Kathryn Bigelow.

Considering I was watching a tense, action-packed flick that’s presently the center of awards season buzz (following Golden Globe wins this past Sunday night and its several Oscar nods) – and especially considering I’m admittedly the cinematically-inexpert type of audience who gets lost in plots and words and doesn’t think about the guts of the film process – it’s unlikely that I would be stuck mulling over the Director’s every motive and move as I sat with my hand frozen in my popcorn bag.

While strolling home (and consequently blessing the safe streets of Toronto in comparison to those depictions of war torn Pakistan), I decided the reason behind my lingering fascination was the sort of supposed paradox within Bigelow’s career – a woman, working (and winning) in a man’s world, showing directorial preference to what we historically assume are “manly” creative choices – and absolutely nailing it. But, it’s the woman, not the choices, who continues to amaze me.

Originally trained as a painter and conceptual artist, Bigelow moved into filmmaking during her graduate career at Columbia where she worked on a short film about the deconstruction of film violence. Following that first encounter with carnage on camera, Bigelow’s short but powerful scroll of films would consequently all be heavily rooted in the action or thriller genre – with her name on the credits for biker gang, western, crime drama and a handful of war flicks in the years to come. After quite the creative hiatus, Bigelow returned with 2009’s The Hurt Locker, a celebrated documentary-like Iraq War thriller detailing the trials and psyche of a bomb-disposal unit. Heralded as one of the most acclaimed returns into filmmaking (or, for many, the first they’d ever seen or heard of the tall, striking female), The Hurt Locker made Bigelow the first female to win an Oscar for Best Director, knocking out her ex-husband of three years, James Cameron. Half hour into The Hurt Locker, it’s hard not to remark that the person behind the camera – dictating mass explosions and disturbing conflict – is the graceful and soft-spoken sensation.

Amidst the controversy surrounding the box office number one Zero Dark Thirty, a plot detailing the 10-year Osama Bin Laden hunt which opened to loads of criticism for its depiction of torturous and humiliating interrogation techniques that (did or did not) lead to killing the most wanted terrorist, Bigelow has remained characteristically calm. Without revealing sources or motives behind her and screenwriter (and journalist throughout the raid) Mark Boal’s storyline, Bigelow went on the record yesterday with an LA Times essay to address the rabid attacks on her portrayal of the tactics and events leading up to the Osama Bin Laden raid. She wrote:

“… I do wonder if some of the sentiments alternately expressed about the film might be more appropriately directed at those who instituted and ordered these U.S. policies, as opposed to a motion picture that brings the story to the screen.

Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to paint inhumane practices, no author could write about them, and no filmmaker could delve into the thorny subjects of our time.”

And with that, Bigelow’s class and confidence – seemingly quite similar to the almost maniacal determination embedded in Zero Dark Thirty (military lingo for 12:30am – the time of the Osama capture) leading lady Jessica Chastain’s character Maya – is unshakeable. On Jessica Chastain’s character, Bigelow has been quoted to say, “…what’s so fascinating about the screenplay is that it’s about a character who defines herself through her actions, her dedication, her commitment and her courage.” Sounds familiar.

Bigelow is the prime example of a true contemporary artist during what many are calling the “year of the woman” in arts. Although upon first glance at the willowy brunette’s portfolio, to some, the surprising truth might be just that she’s a woman with a knack for what most think is a man’s genre. But when nailing down her selling point, and the reason behind her likely longevity, that’s not even close. Upon further examination, Bigelow’s concise, realist attention to detail – although not always fun to stomach – is what stands out as her award-winning approach. Although her creative endeavours have so far proven to be grislier than the rest of the crop, her positive – and unmistakably fierce – approach to believably illustrating humans under pressure, humans under duress and their ability to bravely defy the surrender intended with catastrophic inhumanity, is what’s uncontroversially inspiring about her, time after time.