I have a lot of time for Terry Gilliam, but as time goes on I perhaps realize that this is built on past glory and not so much on current form or consistency of output. I hadn't totally got that when I sat to watch Zero Theorem, but I certainly had by the end of it. The film opens with a gaudy vision of the future where technology is the sort of bright and impractical form that only could exist in these types of films. The unexplained noise and color of this world was one of the immediate things that put my back up about it.
This approach continued throughout the film, although after a while I at least started to appreciate the visual content and maybe find the film interesting. In truth I think this was a case of any port in the storm as I found the rest of the film fairly tedious and dull. The narrative and what it is all trying to say offered me little, while the characters within the story didn't engage. The performances tried hard to counter that, and the starry cast do carry the film a little bit by their sheer will - but it does feel like they were just there to experience working with Gilliam, and the film doesn't rise to meet their potential.
Gilliam die-hards no doubt will love it and see more in it than I ever could, but beyond superficial elements of interest, I found it dull and unengaging.
This approach continued throughout the film, although after a while I at least started to appreciate the visual content and maybe find the film interesting. In truth I think this was a case of any port in the storm as I found the rest of the film fairly tedious and dull. The narrative and what it is all trying to say offered me little, while the characters within the story didn't engage. The performances tried hard to counter that, and the starry cast do carry the film a little bit by their sheer will - but it does feel like they were just there to experience working with Gilliam, and the film doesn't rise to meet their potential.
Gilliam die-hards no doubt will love it and see more in it than I ever could, but beyond superficial elements of interest, I found it dull and unengaging.