Zero Theorem

Directed by:

Terry Gilliam

Starring:

Christophe Waltz

Melanie Thierry

David Thewlis

Lucas Hedges

Matt Damon

Starring the epic Christophe Waltz and the deliciously elegant Melanie Thierry and just a splash of MATT DAMON, Zero Theorem is exactly what you expect from a movie with a title like that; nerdy, melancholic and a little bit leftfield.

That Zero Theorem was directed by the man behind the mid 90s classic, mind-bending paradox Twelve Monkeys, will come as no surprise. We are taken to the most colourful outer reaches of our imaginations of the future, where our hopes and fears collide. Mix this with modern special effects and a liberal budget and we are presented with a dystopian world where everything is for sale and advertising is king. If that sounds like the world we live in now then get to a cinema near you now because this movie is just for you!

Simply put, the theme is mid-life crisis. Sure, this has been done a million times before but when mixed with the underlying themes of the inevitability of the end, the mortality of man and above all; sanity in an insane world. You are left to question; how is sanity measured, who has the right to measure it and is it indeed all relative?

All of this is represented in the most beautifully-designed sets since Tron Legacy gave us optical orgasms a plenty!

Of course, the film was able to learn from the hilarious mistakes of other futuristic movies; Back To The Future 2 claimed that cars would be flying by the year 2015! That’s next year. Although being the fun fest that Back To The Future was, it must be assumed that their predictions were uber tongue-in-cheek. Zero Theorem had the foresight to present us with a prospective world where everyone and their cat has an ipad, everyone drinks and everyone smokes…well…sort of...

There are no grand advances in technology for the human race which is perhaps the biggest victory of all for this movie. In this world, we are not more advanced, mere evolved and not necessarily in the right direction.

There is so much in this movie that you cannot understand, so many props that make no sense and by the time you have pestered your fellow cinema-goer for an explanation the movie has moved on to the next scene and you are presented with another plethora of visual confusion. But, instead of being annoyed and perplexed, this merely serves to increase your already elevated intrigue as you find solace and meaning in the characters. Perfect.

Usually in fabulous costumes, see Django Unchained or Inglorious Basterds, Waltz hits our screen completely hairless and not for the last time in this movie, completely naked too. Although as we discover, this nakedness is merely a vessel, designed to tell us that Waltz maintains a fresh-faced naivety throughout, a physical manifestation of the sense that he is not of this time nor longed for this world.

We are allowed to read every facial expression of Waltz as he shows us how ill-at-ease he is with the world around him. In fact, his surroundings are as alien to him as they are to us!

His thick German accent that he never seems to lose is played up to in movies, here it is another tool, portraying to us how different and odd he is in this world. Looking odd in a world like this, where every street and mundane task appears to border on perfect chaos, is what makes Waltz such a phenomenal actor. Yes, I said phenomenal!! Anyone who can play the evil Jew Hunter so well and then command so much sympathy in this movie demands respect and awards a plenty!

 

Leaving the movie, you are left to ponder the after taste. Over-thinking the most negative of inevitabilities can destroy you, unless you learn to block out, to accept human companionship and grow as a constructive member of society, things that all pragmatists and uber skeptics must face in their lives.

Rating: UUUUu

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rae7_O_6EtU