Review of The Zero Theorem (2013) by Victor T — 09 Jul 2016

Since the release of the polarizing but cult classic "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Terry Gilliam has struggled in making films as beloved or memorable as he used to, plus he has been the victim of numerous production problems: Cancelled films (most notably "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote"), been replaced in the directing chair ("Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone") or even the dead of lead actors (Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"). But still he gave audiences the also polarizing "The Zero Theorem". So in which spectrum does Gilliam´s eleventh directorial work falls into?

Qohen Leth is a hermit computer genius who lives in a futuristic, almost Orwellian society, and is looking for a reason to live, but when he manages to get a meeting with his boss, he offers him an opportunity that may provide him with a reason.

The pairing of one of the most creative directors working to date and one of the most fun to watch actors working right now is the main reason I wanted to watch this film, plus I was really curious to see why was this film is so hated, and after watching it I don't completely get it. "The Zero Theorem" counts with a solid performance by the charismatic Christoph Waltz, Gilliam´s directing is as irreverent as ever, Gilliam´s trademark visual style is tamed by the concept of the film itself but still he manages to deliver some gorgeous visuals within this limitations, the story can only be described as a mixture of Aronofsky´s debut "Pi" with Gilliam´s masterpiece "Brazil" (I don't get why people claim this is a difficult film to follow, is extremely straightforward), the character evolution of Waltz is really interesting to witness, and the small amount of comedy are actually hilarious (Tilda Swinton is hilarious in her small cameo). But still, this film suffers from major problems: It has serious pacing issues as at time it tries to be a psychological thriller but then it goes to the Gilliam quirky style, the themes are executed poorly, some characters are useless as they literally disappear from the film, and overall the cliché but still interesting philosophical questions presented at the beginning are completely dropped, which as I mentioned in my "Ex Machina" review is extremely frustrating as they are meaningless in this narrative.

"The Zero Theorem" is a surprisingly tamed Terry Gilliam film that has some interesting ideas but overall is quite forgettable. It is by no means Gilliam´s worst film (I doubt he will ever make a film as bad as "Brothers Grimm") but quite possibly his most forgettable work to date (right next to the already mentioned "Brothers Grimm" and "Jabberwocky").