Zero Dark Thirty's five Oscar nominations threw up no surprises; the film's been critically well received and no one doubts its position amongst the contenders. Winning, however, is a different story, and it's doubtful a film that strongly suggests the use of torture by the American government will win at the country's biggest award show. 

If you put aside the debate: for v against torture (remembering that torture is always illegal, everywhere) and consider the film on its merits, it's undoubtedly a fine achievement. Kathryn Bigelow is no slouch; she's up there with the Hollywood hard-hitters and is rightly mentioned in the same breath as some of the industry's greats. What she won't do, however, is compromise. Zero Dark Thirty has been criticized for many things, most notably the glamourizing of torture and the very suggestion that torture was used to pursue Osama Bin Laden. But instead of engaging head on with the important debate that it raises, the film's detractors simply think it's too close to the bone. And that's why it won't win an Oscar.

It looks like Zero is destined to lurk among the pantheon of great films unrecognized by the Academy. Of course, there are those who see it simply as an artistic interpretation, at its purest form: a story, but it would be foolish to ignore the context of such an important film. While Bigelow might need to make a more America-friendly film to triumph again at the Oscars, her integrity remains untarnished. 

Watch the Zero Dark Thirty Trailer: