In a room full of nearly a hundred strangers sitting directly next to each other, a breathtaking silence takes over the room. It is so quiet you can hear the person next to you breathing in and out, in and out. You are unable to focus on anything but what you just witnessed.

The second the film finished playing, patrons of Webster Theater sat motionless as the white credits rolled down the pitch-black screen. This silence was the aftermath of “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film has been in the spotlight since its debut on the big screen Dec. 19, 2012. While this movie is going on its second month in the theater, the seats are still jam-packed with people eager to experience its intensity.

Bigelow also directed the Academy award-winning film “The Hurt Locker,” but it is her work in this militaristic film that is gaining quite the following.

The film stars Jessica Chastian as Maya, a new member of the CIA team who spearheads the hunt for Al Qaeda’s leader: Osama Bin Laden. While the entire audience knows the outcome of this film, the majority of the pubic does not know the military tactics that lead the U.S. to the capture of Bin Laden.

This story had all the makings of a successful film and by adding an award-winning director; it was bound for the spotlight.

But the question is not if the film was a hit: “Zero Dark Thirty” has five Oscar nominations to prove its credibility. The real debate comes into play when looking at the content of the film. Did Bigelow and her team reveal too much information about the military and their tactics in regards to the war on terror?

The film was an adaptation of the book”No Easy Day,” which was written by Mark Owen (with Kevin Maurer), who had a firsthand experience in the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Owen was part of the Navy Seal Team Six, which was responsible for the Bin Laden mission and throughout the book, he takes his audience through the steps it took to capture and kill the Al Qaeda leader.

Mark Boal, the movie’s screenwriter and producer, and Bigelow met with the CIA to get the most accurate information possible, but some argue that Bigelow took advantage of that information, sparking headlines across the world.

ABC News reported that three members of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked the CIA to provide the information from their meeting with Bigelow and Boal regarding the mission to find Bin Laden.

ABC News also reported that this committee sent a letter to Sony Pictures Entertainment (the studio behind the film) that said the film was “grossly inaccurate in suggesting torture played a role in extracting information” that eventually lead the U.S. military to Bin Laden.

The torture methods seen in the film are graphic to say the least, so it is no surprise that these scenes appalled some viewers.  While these torture scenes are intense, the feeling that comes over the viewers when watching is essential to the films success. Without the torture scenes it would be impossible to feel the both physical and mental demand the CIA agents were forced to endure everyday when they went to work.

“I think that the torture was authentic. I know that the water torture was a strategy our military uses. I do not think the movie was extreme in showing this, if anything, I think they were being soft,” said DePaul junior, Marissa Millonzi. “I think our military has done much worse methods of torture that the movie did not show.”

However, in “Zero Dark Thirty,” the main characters discuss how the torture policies will be forced to change with the changing of a new president. The country is aware of the fact that President Bush was supportive of torture methods being used in the military, while President Barack Obama’s stance is against these methods. This urges the question: Did the government release a statement to Sony Pictures Entertainment because they are trying to maintain the president’s stance on torture, or was the film truly inaccurate?

“I think that it is better for people to know how our CIA operates and what their duties entail. I don’t think anything that our country does should be hidden from the public,” said Millonzi.

All of these questions are raising not only critique of the film but also criticism.

“The reason I liked it is because I learned a lot I wouldn’t have known otherwise,” said DePaul junior, Jack O’Donnell. “You can see stuff you wouldn’t have known happened in the war if you didn’t see the movie.”

The purpose of this film was to entertain and inform America about the struggle it took to capture Bin Laden. The criticism that comes along with the film forgets about the freedom of artistic expression in this country. The film was crafted by Bigelow and her team of outstanding actors, who together, informed America about the struggle and sacrifices it took to capture of Bin Laden and above all, got the public interested in the interworkings of the government.

At the end of the day, it’s just a movie.