Zero Theorem Review

Based on my love of symmetry and my intense OCD for organization, I should hate Terry Gilliam.  He seems to have a way of making the guts of a movie look like they're spilling out onto the screen.  Just watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys, or Brazil and you'll see many moments of disorder and chaos that trample all over my neat tidy brain.  But for some reason... I love it!  Maybe it's just not possible to hate the director of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Whatever the reason, I was very curious when I saw the trailer for The Zero Theorem a few years ago.

See what you think:

I guess I love watching a movie that makes you feel like you're on drugs, without actually doing any drugs.

Well, apparently this came and went without making a blip on anyone's radar.  So I thought, since nobody talked about it, maybe it was a horrible movie.  But after finally watching, all I can say is... wow!  Again Terry Gilliam proved what a genius he is!  He created an amazing dystopian future that felt almost laughable but still terrifyingly possible.

The story is relatable to most people.  Qohen Leth hates his job, and management keeps pushing for results.  But all he wants is stay home and wait for a phone call that will tell him the meaning of life.

The concept is simple, but when you stretch it out to 106 minutes, everything does get a bit trippy, (as is the tendency in Terry Gilliam movies).  This could be a bit too cerebral for most audiences today (sadly).  I read some reviews from people that just didn't get it, and maybe I didn't get it either... but I have a few theories.  Sure, I like my storylines to be straightforward and handed to me sometimes, but occasionally I'm one of those crazy people that like using my imagination and having discussions with others about what it all could mean.

Christoph Waltz proves he deserved his Academy Award starring as Qohen.  And feeling a bit too appropriate, Matt Damon is Management.  The rest of the cast is strange combination of psychotic and disturbing, but all enjoyable.

If it helps, this is nominated for the 2015 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, along with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, Godzilla, Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt 1, and Interstellar... so, yikes.  

If you like your movies with lots of style, and maybe some strange substance, you'll enjoy this.  Or maybe you've just always wondered how Christoph Waltz looks naked... you get some of that too.

But most important, you get to see a future that worships The Batman

Deeesher