Showing @ Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 27 & Fri 28 Feb
Terry Gilliam / UK/Romania/France / 2013 / 107 mins
There’s always been as much Carroll as Kafka in Terry Gilliam’s work. In The Zero Theorem Christoph Waltz’s Qohen – a bald, lonely hypochondriac, number cruncher – might make an odd Alice, but once he’s tasked by Management (a creepy cameo from Matt Damon) to work on the Zero Theorem project he definitely disappears down the rabbit hole.
Following his confident roles for Tarantino it’s great to watch Waltz take on this bewildered introvert, especially in his relationship with the beautiful Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry) who opens his eyes to a new existence. There’s skillful support from David Thewlis and Tilda Swinton as Qohen’s supervisor and digital psychiatrist respectively, and of course the film looks wonderful, but it’s never quite the sum of its parts. When dealing with Qohen’s existential fears it’s at its best but, as always with Gilliam, he’s also satirising our present day obsessions. This however is done so unsubtlety that you’re pulled entirely out of the story. Whilst The Zero Theorem isn’t quite a return to top form for Gilliam, it’s still the most cohesive and interesting movie he’s made in a long time and worth the trip into his looking glass world.