The Zero Theorem – Review

8th July 2014

Terry Gilliam is back at the Sci Fi game again and it does not disappoint. If you’ve ever managed to catch the excellent Brazil or the bizarre Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, then you’ll be well aware of the dark and mesmerising worlds Gilliam presents. His latest effort The Zero Theorem is just about one of the weirdest. It could also be one of his best.

The film tells the story of Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a strange man who refers to himself as ‘We’. Qohen is over worked and his every effort is spent trying to get out of work so he can be home ready to receive his phone call, the phone call that will tell him the meaning to his very existence. Management (Matt Damon) begins to notice and offers Qohen a new job, ‘The Zero Theorem’. The job is hard, maybe even impossible and as Qohen falls apart at the seams, a myriad of characters pop up to help him in his quest to solve the theorem. Does it all amount to zero as the theorem suggests? If I told you anymore that’d ruin the ride and trust me, its worth the ride.

The performances are fantastic from a stellar cast and although some characters appear as 2 dimensional oddities to begin with, their layers are slowly peeled back to reveal the full extent of themselves. The writing is good too as you’re never entirely sure who’s a friend or a foe and there some excellent satire in there, as you’d expect from a Python.

Visually this movie is beautiful, grimy, colourful, funny and in places its even scary. The version of the future put forth here is one of bureaucracy and technology run amok, advertising invades your space by following you down the street and you need three tests before being declared ill. If you want a movie that will inspire you to follow your own path, question your own existence, examine the world around you and have a good laugh doing it then this is your movie. Oh and it’s a little bit sexy too.

9/10

Facebook

Google

Twitter

We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.