Jessica Chastain, center, in 'Zero Dark Thirty' (Photo: Sony Pictures)
A torture scene takes place at the outset of "Zero Dark Thirty"
as audiences are first introduced to Maya, a CIA operative played by
Jessica Chastain. As the scene plays out in the film -- already
nominated for four Golden Globes -- an uncooperative, hungry, beaten-up
detainee is eventually forced to withstand water being poured over his
face as it is muffled by a thick cloth, causing him to gargle and choke.
Maya administers the water as her male colleagues hold the man in
place.
The scene depicts a tactic formerly employed by the U.S. to get
detainees with suspected links to terrorism to talk -- known as
waterboarding. The film, which covers an array of methods used by the
CIA to hunt down terrorists, does make several references to the
government's use of torture as a tool. The film also covers the changing
political climate as President Obama took office and banned
waterboarding. At one point Maya indicates the ban seriously thwarted
efforts to hunt down the bad guys, including, Osama bin Laden.
The film's seeming endorsement of the practice and its depiction of
the widespread torturing of detainees has three senators in Washington
expressing their "deep disappointment," calling for Sony to state that
the film is a work of fiction. As of now, Sony isn't budging.
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