A Terry Gilliam film is always an event even though some say that his career is in decline. Some even called “Zero Theorem” a failure that included special effects from another time. Basically that Gilliam is has-been. Certainly, some people in the profession do not understand much about movies and do not bother to watch the director’s previous films before delivering their “review”.
The film is about Qohen Leth, a computer genius in a company where employees are enslaved, whose supervisers are unable to remember their names and whose only hope lies in phone call that would finally reveal him the meaning of life.
This film deals with the major themes of Gilliam: fatalism, criticism of religion, dehumanization through the manipulation of society and of our own mind, dilapidated futuristic scenery, an out of phase main character, bizarre allies’ that prove to be none, salvation by finding love (or not), and the disclosure at the end of the movie that finally reveals that are not in control of our destiny. Basically, this film deals with everything we’ve seen in “Twelve Monkeys” and “Brazil”.
While we love this universe intentionally kitsch, its unsual shots as his trademark (the shot where the camera is inclined reinforcing the impression of confusion / hallucination), his falsely enigmatic replies, his almost mischievous omnipresent humor and that fact that you can watch 10 times his films and still manage to find a new element that we didn’t noticed or understood before. We even get the bonus here of great cameos from Tilda Swinton, Matt Damon and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Torth in Game of Thrones). Gilliam is also a great director of actors. Christoph Waltz is brilliant as usual, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Mélanie Thierry that good and Lucas Hedges (seen in “Moonrise Kingdom”) seriously makes you want to remember his name and follow his career.
The subject of the movie could be summed up by the Radiohead’s song “Creep” remixed by Karen Souza even though the director didn’t know the song before post production.
Actually, the problem here is precisely the lack of renewal. Beyond the fact that this kind of film is not easily accessible because sometimes difficult to understand and might be too “unsual” for some, it is also as fascinating as his previous films and is paradoxically “usual” for Gilliam.
In short, go for the experience but know that it is a Terry Gilliam movie without much inspiration. Surely his next film “Don Quixote” a project that once was cancelled (watch the excellent film about the failed project called “Lost in La Mancha”), but which eventually rises from its ashes. Hoping that it will also be a revival of the director’s inspiration.
