Synopsis: Qohen Leth is an unsociable number cruncher working for The Management, he feels nothing other than the wait for 'the call'.
Stan's thoughts: It's funny I just read the IMDB synopsis for Zero Theorum and it's like reading about a different film but then this is an absurdis, existential drama from which you can draw any number of conclusions.
First and foremost I probably wouldn't have seen it had Ben Whishaw not been making a cameo but I am sort of glad I did because it wasn't quite the pretentious, arty-farty nonsense I thought it looked from the trailers.
Ben Whishaw does have remarkable hair - David Thewlis who plays Joby said that during filming they would throw stuff at it, sort of like a hoopla - but his appearance is fleeting.
This is a film that is high on ideas and theories snuggled around a sort plot about Leth trying to work out why he exists. He feels insignificant in the grand scheme of things, a microscopic cog in a great machine but can't accept that his life has no greater meaning.
The irony is that in waiting for 'the call', which he believes will reveal the reason for his existence, he has in fact rendered his life meaningless. He closets himself away, doesn't like other people or enjoy anything or allow himself to enjoy anything. There are religious undertones, naturally, and depending on where you stand on the faith spectrum you will draw different conclusions.
He is given an impossible project to work on, of course, that has sent others mad and is distracted from his work by Bainsley (Michelle Thierry) who creates a fantasy world for him to retreat into, Bob (Lucas Hedges) The Management's whizz kid son and his therapist Dr Shrink-rom (Tilda Swinton).
The conclusion of the story is typically open for interpretation but I found it satisfying and surprisingly straight forward.
The visualisation of the futuristic world of Qohen is stunning - like a cross between Bladerunner and the Capital in The Hunger Games - and it is certainly a film that made me think a lot both while I was watching and subsequently. The actors all look like they are having fun too - I particularly loved Tilda Swinton as the toothy Scottish therapist.
Ben Whishaw's hair wasn't the best thing in Zero Theorum, it is quirky and different film that won't have wide appeal but I found it a fulfilling if a sometimes frustrating cinema experience.
Ratings
- Stan's: 64%
- IMDB: 68%
- Metascore: 51%
- Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
- RT audience rating: 54%
Recently seen
Comments