The title is never explained, but it is military jargon for 30 minutes after midnight, the time that the raid on the Abbottabad compound was launched, and apparently it refers also to the darkness and secrecy that cloaked the entire decade-long mission to capture or kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (or "USB" as he is referred to sometimes in the movie). The film reunites the winning team of director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, who were responsible for the brilliant "The Hurt Locker", and who have now produced a stunning piece of work.
When bin Laden was eliminated by SEAL Team Six on 2 May 2011, it was obvious that there would soon be a film about the exploit, but few would have guessed that the director would be a woman, the lead character would also be a woman, the focus would be on the intelligence-gathering operation rather than the military planning of the raid, and the whole thing would be so lacking in machismo and so non-triumphalist. All these unexpected features, plus outstanding acting, brilliant cinematography and superb sound, make this a superlative exercise in film-making.
The narrative is in the form of a triptych: a deeply disturbing set of interrogations involving torture, a painstaking and obsessive pursuit of intelligence links to the courier, and then the audacious raid into Pakistani territory under the noses of the country's equivalent to West Point (depicted in almost real time). Linking the three segments is Maya, the female CIA analyst on whom we have no background information, played by Jesica Chastain who confirms her status as one of the finest actresses of her generation.
In this long, but gripping, film, only one scene did not work for me: when a CIA chief lambasts his team for failing to find their man. This scene apart, the whole movie is utterly absorbing in its authentic presentation. There are clearly conflations and mistakes in the telling of this true story, but it is clear that Bigelow and Boal have had access to people who know a lot about this unique operation and have helped the creation of a work of great verisimilitude and power.
