The Zero Theorem


2013 Terry Gilliam movie

Rating: 12/20

Plot: A computer programmer is given an assignment to prove that life is meaningless.

Christoph Waltz is at it again, this time without hair, and Terry Gilliam's got another mess on his hands. I like the set design and a handful of ideas, but this suffers from being a movie without a really good central idea. So the bleak but colorful look at a vibrant utopia has its moments, but it really loses steam quickly and starts to drag. A lot of this movie will have you remembering and probably wishing that you were watching Brazil.

I did like the imagery with the final scene of the movie, and the movie gets a points boost because David Thewlis is so fucking good. Peter Stormare is also in this briefly, and Melanie Thierry is really cute and makes this happen:


Terry Gilliam's made some movies that would be in a favorite movie list if I ever made one. Sadly, I'm not even sure I would recommend this to a fan of the guy. I won't give up on him after two disappointments in a row that followed Tideland, a movie I'm still trying to figure out if I liked. But it feels like his talents as a writer or director can't match his imagination.

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