Directed by the man who brought us Brazil, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I wasn't surprised to be one of the select few in the cinema when I went to see it. It would be quite easy to take The Zero Theorem at face value and wonder quite what the hell is going on. Whilst it isn't as painfully stylised as the likes of Only God Forgives, it is sure to prove divisive to any watchers. You will either love it, or hate it. Little to no middle ground exists here.
I am a big fan of Terry Gilliam's work. In this way, I had some understanding of what I was letting myself in for. After seeing it, I later read that Gilliam described it as the final part of an Orwellian triptych the started back in 1985 with Brazil, and now has 1995's Twelve Monkeys sandwiched between it and The Zero Theorem. If you are familiar with either of the other two films mentioned above, you will get a good idea of the type of world The Zero Theorem is set in.
Christoph Waltz plays Qohen Leth. A very eccentric, and reclusive computer genius he works for a very large corporation. Tasked with 'crunching numbers' and solving formulae all day, Qohen cannot understand why he is unable to work from home. He believes in this way he can not only be more productive, but he can also await his precious phone call. This phone call is one that he has been waiting for all his life. One that Qohen believes will instruct him as to the meaning and purpose of his existence.
Qohen finally gets what he wants when Management agrees to let him work from home, with one condition. He has to work on The Zero Theorem. A theorem notorious for breaking people, the idea behind the theorem is to prove that '0 must = 100%', many would advise against taking on such a task. As it gives Qohen the chance to work from home though, he gladly accepts. Things then start to go wrong as Management tries to distract and manipulate Qohen to keep him on track.
You can most likely tell even from the paragraph above that the stand out theme of the film is the question, "what is the meaning of life?" if it has any. There's no subtlety, and thankfully it makes no attempt to give us an answer. The best part of the film for me was the way the film explored what this very fundamental theme meant to each of the characters, and how it shaped their lives. Then of course there is you and I, the viewer. What does it mean to us?
The film approaches these things in a way that, whilst oddball and wacky, is relevant to the technological, and somewhat disconnected age in which we live now. I enjoyed it very much, and will undoubtedly be seeing it more than once. My only advice is take as many people with you as you can, then afterwards go to the pub and talk about it over drinks.
It will make for one hell of a night!!
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