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IMDbPro

The Zero Theorem

  • 20132013
  • RR
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
48K
YOUR RATING
Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem (2013)
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
Play trailer2:28
7 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
A hugely talented but socially isolated computer operator is tasked by Management to prove the Zero Theorem: that the universe ends as nothing, rendering life meaningless. But meaning is wha... Read allA hugely talented but socially isolated computer operator is tasked by Management to prove the Zero Theorem: that the universe ends as nothing, rendering life meaningless. But meaning is what he already craves.A hugely talented but socially isolated computer operator is tasked by Management to prove the Zero Theorem: that the universe ends as nothing, rendering life meaningless. But meaning is what he already craves.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
48K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Terry Gilliam
  • Writers
    • Pat Rushin(screenplay)
    • Terry Gilliam(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Christoph Waltz
    • Lucas Hedges
    • Mélanie Thierry
Top credits
  • Director
    • Terry Gilliam
  • Writers
    • Pat Rushin(screenplay)
    • Terry Gilliam(additional dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Christoph Waltz
    • Lucas Hedges
    • Mélanie Thierry
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 165User reviews
    • 251Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 7 nominations

    Videos7

    UK Trailer
    Trailer 2:28
    UK Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    International Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Official Trailer
    Official U.S. Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Official U.S. Trailer
    The Zero Theorem
    Clip 1:40
    The Zero Theorem
    "The Director"
    Featurette 1:38
    "The Director"
    Behind the Scenes
    Featurette 1:53
    Behind the Scenes

    Photos123

    David Thewlis in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    David Thewlis and Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Mélanie Thierry and Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Lucas Hedges in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Mélanie Thierry in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    David Thewlis in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Christoph Waltz and Lucas Hedges in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Mélanie Thierry in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    David Thewlis, Christoph Waltz, and Lucas Hedges in The Zero Theorem (2013)
    Ben Whishaw in The Zero Theorem (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Christoph Waltz
    Christoph Waltz
    • Qohen Leth
    Lucas Hedges
    Lucas Hedges
    • Bob
    Mélanie Thierry
    Mélanie Thierry
    • Bainsley
    David Thewlis
    David Thewlis
    • Joby
    Gwendoline Christie
    Gwendoline Christie
    • Woman in a Street Commercial
    Rupert Friend
    Rupert Friend
    • Man in Street Commercial
    Ray Cooper
    • Man in Street Commercial
    Lily Cole
    Lily Cole
    • Woman in Street Commercial
    Sanjeev Bhaskar
    Sanjeev Bhaskar
    • Doctor
    Peter Stormare
    Peter Stormare
    • Doctor
    Ben Whishaw
    Ben Whishaw
    • Doctor
    Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    • Management
    Margarita Doyle
    • Mancom Computerised Lips
    Tilda Swinton
    Tilda Swinton
    • Dr. Shrink-Rom
    Emil Hostina
    Emil Hostina
    • Slim Clone
    Pavlic Nemes
    • Chubs Clone
    Dana Rogoz
    Dana Rogoz
    • Pizza Girl
    Rudy Rosenfeld
    Rudy Rosenfeld
    • Old Homeless Man
    • (as Rudi Rosenfeld)
    • Director
      • Terry Gilliam
    • Writers
      • Pat Rushin(screenplay)
      • Terry Gilliam(additional dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In order to select the locations, Terry Gilliam used Google Earth: "I'd got most of the locations sorted out by using Google Earth before I first went to Romania. This is how we do location scouting these days."
    • Goofs
      When Qohen is sitting at his computer naked, he is wearing flesh colored underwear.
    • Quotes

      Qohen Leth: Nothing adds up.

      Joby: No. You've got it backwards, Qohen. Everything adds up to nothing, that's the point.

      Qohen Leth: What's the point?

      Joby: Exactly. What's the point of anything?

    • Crazy credits
      In memory of the great Richard D. Zanuck who kept the ball rolling.
    • Connections
      Featured in Film '72: Episode dated 5 March 2014 (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Creep
      Written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood

      Performed by Karen Souza

    User reviews165

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Weird, wise and wonderful.
    Terry Gilliam has never found it easy to make one of his downright weird films. Studio interference has almost invariably led to project delays, postponements, and outright cancellations, with his final cuts emerging bruised, bloodied and - more often than not - broken. Interestingly, The Zero Theorem suffers from next to none of the scuttlebutt that usually accompanies a Gilliam film. Instead, this dense, complex, thought- provoking odyssey of human existence and (un)happiness feels like pure Gilliam: odd, uncompromising, but - at its best - almost breathtakingly brilliant.

    In some not-so-distant, sparkly-bright dystopian future, brilliant and determinedly solitary mathematician Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) suffers through the tiny indignities of daily life. He's forced to leave the burnt-out church he calls home to report for work, where he crunches numbers for his clueless immediate supervisor Joby (David Thewlis). But all he wants is to stay close to his telephone, waiting for a call he believes will help him unravel the mysteries of the universe and his existence.

    When mysterious head honcho Management (a silver-haired Matt Damon) finally gives him leave to work from home, Qohen is assigned the impossible Zero Theorem, a mathematical conundrum that has defeated many a mathematician before him. To keep him from going completely around the bend, Management sends him company in the form of Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry), a nubile young woman with whom he forges an unexpected emotional connection; and Management's own genius teenage son Bob (Lucas Hedges).

    If you're looking for a plot that makes sense and progresses in logical fashion, The Zero Theorem is not the film for you. In Gilliam's movie, based on a loopy, mind-bending script by Pat Rushin, plot points are more often than not metaphors for the human condition. The script can be simultaneously literal and obtuse: Qohen lives in a hollowed-out church, a blindingly obvious symbol of the fading of traditional religion; he's waiting for a call - read: calling - that will free him from the humdrum banalities of a worker-bee's life.

    But that's also where the film's genius lies. It's an explosion of philosophical ideas, asking deep, difficult questions about happiness, humanity and hubris - often in the same scene. Few films and film-makers would dare to so boldly confront existential issues on this scale and to this depth. The titular Zero Theorem, after all, requires Qohen to prove that everything is nothing: that the entire universe, filled with people, ultimately has no meaning. Qohen's strange, isolated journey hints at some answers, but not anywhere near all of them.

    Gilliam could easily have failed on two counts: the seemingly stereotypical blonde love interest; and the annoyingly precocious teenage boy. But, within these archetypes, The Zero Theorem finds something fascinating to say. Bainsley starts out as a ditzy blonde dream girl, but winds up offering Qohen plenty of soul and an elusive, transient kind of eternity. Bob, too, is a whip-smart delight, a child more in tune with the silent beats and rhythms of the universe than any number of people older and purportedly wiser than him.

    The film would fail catastrophically without a leading man capable of handling the tragedy and comedy of Qohen Leth - a character who, in habitually referring to himself using the royal 'we' , is a metaphor for every human being that has ever been and will ever be. Waltz is more than up to the task. He is hilariously effective when called upon to wriggle into a skin-tight virtual-reality costume, and devastatingly heartbreaking in the moment when Qohen refuses a chance at freedom and happiness to stay locked into the dark, nihilistic world in which he lives.

    There are also a pair of wonderful supporting turns - slightly larger than cameos - from Damon and Tilda Swinton. The former clearly enjoyed his time working on The Brothers Grimm, one of Gilliam's most disastrous on-set experiences, and here, he provides a grim, mysterious counterpoint to Waltz's Cohen - the latter only appears to be impenetrable and tough to crack. Swinton, meanwhile, is a hoot as Dr. Shrink-Rom, Qohen's at-home, virtual psychiatrist, fumbling through their sessions with tons of blustery, false cheer.

    Perhaps most astounding of all is the fact that Gilliam made a film that looks so good - in its inventive, kitschy way - on a shoestring budget of US$8.5 million. That's pocket change for most Hollywood films, and there's no doubt that everyone involved took a huge pay-cut to make The Zero Theorem look as great as it does. The special effects are mostly wonderful, and the neon-coloured world through which the black-clad Qohen stalks practically bursts at the seams with detail and imagination.

    The Zero Theorem is emphatically not a film that will appeal to everyone. There are those who will find themselves incredibly annoyed by its philosophical navel-gazing, and others who might find Qohen's entire journey pointless and irredeemably self-involved. But, when it comes down to it, it's hard to deny the weird, wacky power of Gilliam's movie. The Zero Theorem so bravely grapples with big ideas and complicated metaphors that it's hard not to admire the director's great courage and even greater ambition.
    helpful•207
    48
    • shawneofthedead
    • Apr 11, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 19, 2014 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Romania
      • France
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Fansite Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Теорема Зеро
    • Filming locations
      • Bucharest, Romania
    • Production companies
      • Voltage Pictures
      • Asia & Europe Productions
      • Zanuck Independent
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $257,706
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $83,803
      • Sep 21, 2014
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,486,506
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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