{"id":5757,"date":"2014-08-28T17:52:59","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T23:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2014-08-28T17:52:59","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T23:52:59","slug":"the-zero-theorem-dir-terry-gilliam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/2014\/08\/the-zero-theorem-dir-terry-gilliam\/","title":{"rendered":"The Zero Theorem (dir. Terry Gilliam)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"zero4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This film\u00a0 belongs to the new business paradigm:\u00a0 it\u2019s now available for instant home viewing, but we have to wait till September 19th for its arrival on U.S. movie screens.\u00a0 I don\u2019t get it either.<\/em><\/p>\n

Terry Gilliam\u2019s latest cinematic dystopia probably contains the best-articulated philosophical statement of any movie I\u2019ve seen this year.\u00a0 Staying securely in spoiler-free territory, it can be summed up thusly:\u00a0 on a universal scale, our lives lack any significance; and time spent seeking a divinely ordained mission\u00a0equals time squandered, when we could\u00a0more fruitfully\u00a0pursue happiness by loving the person directly in front of us.\u00a0 (Sigmund Freud famously \u2013 and allegedly \u2013\u00a0asserted that\u00a0we attain maturity\u00a0in life through work and love, but\u00a0only the latter option is available\u00a0in Gilliam\u2019s frenetic hypercapitalist nightmare, where the slogan is, \u201cDon\u2019t ask \u2013 multitask!\u201d)<\/p>\n

The Zero Theorem<\/em> begins with a shot of a swirling black hole sucking all matter into its merciless maw.\u00a0 Only as the camera slowly pulls back and rotates, do we realize that our naked protagonist Qohen Leth (a completely shorn and subdued Christoph Waltz) is staring at this galactic portrait on his computer screen.<\/p>\n

Qohen is repeatedly haunted by this image, which is held in tense opposition to his god delusion.\u00a0 Ever since an anonymous aborted phone call (most likely from a salesperson), he\u00a0has waited\u00a0obsessively for the Second Calling, when his unique purpose will be manifest.\u00a0 At that first call, Qohen felt \u201ca rush of joy, power,\u201d and now he eagerly longs for the next, consummating fix.\u00a0 In the meantime, he lives blandly and reclusively in\u00a0a burnt out monastery, surrounded by weathered images of saints and an overhanging crucifix from which the head of Jesus has been removed and replaced by a video camera.<\/p>\n

On the job, Qohen\u00a0miserably plugs away as an \u201centity cruncher\u201d for the megacorporation Mancom.\u00a0 When the head honcho, the impersonally named Management (a creepy Matt Damon), proposes that Qohen stay home and work exclusively on the \u201cZero Theorem,\u201d in exchange for a promise to make his phone call happen, our hero leaps at the opportunity.\u00a0 (The Zero Theorem, Mancom\u2019s all-important effort to prove that everything equals nothing, is of course a thinly disguised statement of cosmic nihilism.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Qohen<\/a>
Qohen and Joby (David Thewlis) at Mancom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Qohen is aided in his Sisyphean task by his jovial boss Joby (David Thewlis), wannabe lover Bainsley (Melanie Thierry), teen techno-whiz Bob (Lucas Hedges, one of the Khaki Scouts in Wes Anderson\u2019s delightful Moonrise Kingdom<\/em>), and a ditzy psychotherapy program (Tilda Swinton, channeling Emma Thompson\u2019s Professor Trelawney).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By way of occasional hints and cues, however, we and Qohen are left to wonder whether these folks are true friends or malign pawns of Management.<\/p>\n

\"Bainsley<\/a>
Bainsley (Melanie Thierry), at Qohen\u2019s place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking at the world outside his door, it\u2019s hard to fault Qohen for his purpose-driven compulsion.\u00a0 Director Terry Gilliam succeeds in taking Western society\u2019s foibles and making them simultaneously recognizable and horrifying.\u00a0 Our crazy m\u00e9lange of technology, porn on demand, fanatic religiosity, and overcommercialization has been ramped up on steroid megadoses.\u00a0 Safe sex can now be experienced in a virtual locale of one\u2019s choosing by way of \u201ctantric biometric interfacing,\u201d and every possible space is coated with loud, mobile, gaudy advertisements.\u00a0 Many of these ads promote insanely personalized religions, whether the Church of Batman the Redeemer or (in one of the movie\u2019s funniest moments) \u201cthe Church of Intelligent Design, reach[ing] out to the special you.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I\u00a0consider The Zero Theorem<\/em>\u2019s satirizing and moralizing to be spot on, a handful of flaws keep this film in \u201cgood, but not great\u201d territory.\u00a0 First, its sights and sounds have shown up before in similar forms.\u00a0 The intrusively pervasive commercialization recalls Minority Report<\/em>; the silence of Qohen\u2019s inner sanctum contrasted with the\u00a0raucous outer world is heavily reminiscent of Peter Sellers\u2019 posh enclosure in the 1980\u2019s classic Being There<\/em>; and the intense colors of Qohen and Bainsley\u2019s fantasy sex island resemble the garish hells of Kurosawa\u2019s Ran<\/em> and Dodes\u2019ka-den<\/em>.\u00a0 Even more disappointingly, the monstrous apparatuses, freakish medical devices, and cavernous interiors could\u2019ve been lifted from Gilliam\u2019s own previous work, Brazil <\/em>and 12 Monkeys<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Qohen's<\/a>
Qohen\u2019s medical exam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Second, the cartoonish exaggeration of nearly everything \u2013 set design, attire, gestures, and emotions \u2013 fell flat at times and emotionally detached me from a hefty chunk of the movie.\u00a0 (If I were Emperor of the Multiplex, I would decree that the Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson have sole claim on cinematic tics and affectations.\u00a0 Just about everyone else blows it.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Lastly, the rapid-fire verbiage and sensory overload that occupy\u00a0much of The Zero Theorem<\/em> result in a semi-unpleasant viewing experience.\u00a0 After the movie was over, I\u00a0simply craved a hike and\u00a0some technology-free quiet time with the people I love.\u00a0 Then again, Terry Gilliam\u00a0is probably\u00a0aiming for that exact response.<\/p>\n

3.5 out of 5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

(The Zero Theorem<\/em> is rated R for language, sexuality, and nudity.\u00a0 I consider it suitable for mid-teens and older.)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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