LOS ANGELES (January 16, 2013)--Kathryn Bigelow, the director of “Zero Dark Thirty” is defending torture scenes in the film, saying the military hunt for Osama bin Laden wasn't free of moral consequences.

The best picture Oscar-nominated film opens by declaring it's based on firsthand accounts of actual events, but California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other lawmakers have criticized the film as misleading for suggesting torture led to the death of Bin Laden.

Bigelow wrote in the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that torture was part of the story and the backlash may be misdirected.

She said critics should perhaps direct their anger at those who ordered U.S. torture policies rather than her film.

Bigelow said it seems illogical to make a case against torture by denying the role it played in counter-terrorism policy and practices.