InReview InReview

SA QLD
Support independent journalism

Film & TV

The Zero Theorem

Film & TV

Comments
Comments Print article

Computer genius Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) is an eccentric computer whiz searching for the meaning of life among the noise and chaos of a futuristic London.

When his tech skills catch the eye of “Management” (Matt Damon), Leth is charged with completing The Zero Theorem, a computer program which will finally answer humankind’s greatest question: Why are we here? But Leth discovers that not all life’s answers can be downloaded, and meaning can come from the simplest of human pleasures.

Directed by Terry Gilliam, The Zero Theorem promises an exploration of human existence. What it delivers is 107 minutes of brain-numbing boredom.  Gilliam and writer Pat Rushin have taken what could have been a thought-provoking topic and wrapped it in a messy, bizarre package.

Waltz’s performance as Qohen Leth is beyond weird, and his character’s many annoying personality traits (such as his inexplicable need to address himself as “we”) eventually become irritating. Damon’s “Management” is also unusual individual whose character is never really explored in depth, and many would expect better from the actor who gave us the Bourne trilogy. Melanie Thierry gives an over-enthusiastic performance as Bainsley, Leth’s supposed love interest, while Tilda Swinton is Dr Shrink-Rom, his pre-programmed psychiatrist.

The cast appears to be trying too hard to bring their characters to life, while the bright, outrageous costumes look like they have been taken from Dr Seuss’s reject pile.

Credit must be given to the special effects team which brings futuristic London to life by creating a colourful, hyperactive world where advertisements follow people down the street and computer stations look surprisingly like holograms operated by Play Station remotes. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to save the The Zero Theorem.

While Leth spent his time pondering the meaning of existence, I spent mine searching for the meaning of this film.

More InDaily film reviews:

Healing
Bad Neighbours
Belle
Fading Gigolo
Spanish Film Festival: Living is Easy with Eyes Closed
52 Tuesdays
The Other Woman
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Invisible Woman
Like Father, Like Son
The Grand Budapest Hotel
 

 

 

Make a comment View comment guidelines

Support local arts journalism

Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia.

Donate Here

Comments

Show comments Hide comments
Will my comment be published? Read the guidelines.

. You are free to republish the text and graphics contained in this article online and in print, on the condition that you follow our republishing guidelines.

You must attribute the author and note prominently that the article was originally published by InReview.  You must also inlude a link to InReview. Please note that images are not generally included in this creative commons licence as in most cases we are not the copyright owner. However, if the image has an InReview photographer credit or is marked as “supplied”, you are free to republish it with the appropriate credits.

We recommend you set the canonical link of this content to https://inreview.com.au/inreview/film/2014/05/15/zero-theorem/ to insure that your SEO is not penalised.

Copied to Clipboard

More Film & TV stories

Loading next article