'Zero Theorem' Difficult To Pin: Critics Divided Ahead Of U.K Release

Amongst the post-Oscars films is The Zero Theorem, which stars the double Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz as Qohen Leth, a computer genius living as a recluse in a dystopian, Orwellian sci-fi world in which the shady figure of ‘Management’ calls the shots.

Leth lives alone in an abandoned chapel, working towards his ultimate hacking goal: to find the meaning of life. In other words: to solve the "Zero Theorem", a mathematical formula derived from Big Crunch theory.

Director Terry Gilliam, formerly of Monty Python fame, has created a colourful and maniacal world in which Waltz can take the lead. With a brilliant cast and an original, intriguing plot, the signs looked good for ‘Zero Theorem’. But what do the critics think?

It’s the definition of ‘mixed reviews’. “The future as candy-coloured paranoid nightmare: not quite Gilliam’s best, but still the most satisfying movie he’s made for years,” Total Film’s Phillip Kemp said. Empire’s review was also positive, reading, “It’s the tangle of workings-out not the easy answer that are the proof of a theorem, and that magnificent, sparkling, insightful chaos abounds here.”

Watch the 'Zero Theorem' trailer here

Time’s Mary Corliss liked it, too. “The Zero Theorem is a spectacle that demands to be cherished — as long as the society Gilliam portrays is a satire, not a prophesy,” she wrote.

The film did have its detractors, though, like Leslie Felperin, who called it “A sci-fi confection that, at best, momentarily recalls the dystopian whimsy of the director’s best-loved effort, “Brazil,” but ends up dissolving into a muddle of unfunny jokes and half-baked ideas, all served up with that painful, herky-jerky Gilliam rhythm” in her review for Variety.

Then there were those who felt Gilliam missed his mark somewhat, but didn’t hate the film as a whole, like The Guardian’s Xan Brooks. “The film has a ragged charm, a Tiggerish bounce, and a certain sweet melancholy that bubbles up near the end,” he wrote, giving it 3 stars.

Also awarding Zero Theorem 3 stars was our very own Rich Cline, who called it “Lively and imaginative,” in our review. This raucous adventure-drama recaptures the ramshackle futurism of director Terry Gilliam's 1985 masterpiece Brazil, throwing a lonely guy into a series of events that get increasingly surreal,” adds Cline.

If that doesn't tickle your fancy tomorrow, then perhaps Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin does...