The Zero Theorem

R

Released Sep 19, 2014

1 hr. 47 min.

Drama

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

List

49%

130 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hired to crack a theorem, reclusive computer genius Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) begins to make headway until his controlled world is interrupted by seductive Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry) and turbulent Bob (Lucas Hedges).

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Critics Consensus

Fans of director Terry Gilliam's trademark visual aesthetic will find everything they've bargained for, but for the unconverted, The Zero Theorem may prove too muddled to enjoy.

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Jeremy _

Terry Gilliam does such a good job here contrasting We's struggle to mentally survive in a world of hollow pleasures, blinking lights, loud noises, pointless tasks.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/24

Full Review

Alec B

It benefits from a narrowed focus (we see just enough of the futuristic world to get a sense of how it's suffocating the characters) and a strong performance by Waltz.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

Anonymous B

One of Gilliam's worst films. That still doesn't make it garbage, but do yourself a favor and pick another of his to watch. I'd only watch this if you're already a fan of his aesthetic.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Spoilers: A sort of downer "Slaughterhouse Five" in its fantasy sequences. Unlike Billy Pilgrim and Montana Wildhack on Tralfamadore, together, happy, Christoph and Melanie were happy beachside, but he ended up there but without her, after refusing her entreaties to leave his home with her. Life's a bitch and you don't get the girl? He was a cog in a big wheel who took his work so seriously it was too seriously. Then Matt Damon as Management enlightened emotionless Waltz that none of the work meant a thing nor accomplished a thing. The Zero Theorem of great longing and aspiration didn't really exist. Of course, Billy and Montana didn't last either, as real life had Billy a dentist with a wife who constantly vowed to lose weight for him. The rawest emotions were from the lovely Melanie and Waltz's supervisor Thewlis, who was mad at Waltz for destroying equipment and getting him fired. Sort of Alice in Wonderland meets Blade Runner meets Tralfamadore. Whatever, but a pretty good cast. Set designer to be commended for dystopian, ugly digs for Waltz and crappy environs.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was Gilliam's worst movie I've seen so far, and I come to him as a big fan. It was a huge letdown after Brazil and 12 Monkeys, both of which were brilliant and one of a kind. The Zero Theorem ends up as a meaningless metaphor to hold together the movie, and it is never taken to any sophisticated dimension. The movie starts at a certain pace and rhythm and stays at the same level until the end. I found Christoph Waltz as the lead character Qohen Leth irritating, although he does salvage himself a bit at the end. It's a bit of 1984, a bit of Brazil, a bit of what Gilliam can't pull off a la Christopher Nolan, a bit of Beckett, a bit of this and that, but in the end not very compelling. It takes great dedication to see it through to the finish, once you realize the other shoe will never drop. In 1984-like dystopias, you can either have a benign Management (as in Brazil, to some extent), or a truly evil one (as in Orwell's ur-text), either one works fine, but this movie is so bad that Management itself remains a non-entity, neither disturbing nor comic. The one saving grace of the movie, for which it's worth watching in the end, is the visual element. The street scenes are to be relished, but again the visual jumble of Qohen's house, exploited past the maximum, grates on the nerves by the end. It is a movie trying to make a big statement but without the script to get anywhere close to doing so. A terrible letdown after what I've come to expect of Gilliam, and now I'm less eager to explore his later movies, the ones I haven't seen yet.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I hated the ending. Somehow I felt it was wrong so I searched for and downloader the book on which this movie was based and lo and behold the ending in the book was different than in the movie. The rest of the movie was otherwise okay.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Terry Gilliam

Director

Christoph Waltz

Qohen Leth

Mélanie Thierry

Bainsley

David Thewlis

Joby

Lucas Hedges

Bob

Matt Damon

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

While it doesn't match his previous masterpieces, it frequently manages to recapture the anti-authoritarian spirit and whirling dervish quality of his best work.

Jun 18, 2016

Full Review

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Say this for Terry Gilliam: Even when he repeats himself, he's unique.

Oct 9, 2014

Full Review

John Anderson

Newsday

Gives one the sense that the ex-Monty Python-ite thinks he's at a filmmaker version of the Last Chance Saloon, manufacturing and recycling as fast as he can.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 25, 2014

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Gilliam and Rushin argue that the universe is a cold and empty place, waiting to be filled with our own sense of purpose.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 29, 2022

Full Review

Kip Mooney

Central Track

Simply put, though, there's just nothing in The Zero Theorem that hasn't been done better before.

Aug 10, 2021

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

"The Zero Theorem" goes very few places to cover and speak to very few things out of all of its manic effort.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 12, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Hired to crack a theorem, reclusive computer genius Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) begins to make headway until his controlled world is interrupted by seductive Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry) and turbulent Bob (Lucas Hedges).

Director: Terry Gilliam
Executive Producer: Patrick Newall
Screenwriter: Pat Rushin
Distributor: Amplify, Well Go USA
Production Co: Voltage Pictures
Rating: R (Some Sexuality/Nudity|Language)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $219.4K

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