As much as I wanted to like The Zero Theorem I think I’m starting to find Gilliam’s style a little wearisome. Although I admire his determination to continue to produce visually stimulating and idiosyncratic works the truth is that it has been a good while since his last truly successful film. Sadly, even working with a dedicated scriptwriter has not improved things as his latest frustratingly skirts around big themes whilst being dominated by Gilliam’s visual playfulness.

Christoph Waltz stars as Qohen Leth, a number-crunching mathematician and hypochondriac whose goal is to discover the existence of the titular zero theorem - a theory that proves existence is meaningless. He is constantly interrupted in his pursuit by his bureaucratic employers, a…

"Actually, we own the building. We bought it from an insurance company some years ago. There'd been extensive fire damage. The previous occupants were an order of monastic monks who'd sworn vows of chastity, poverty and silence. Apparently, no one broke the silence to yell fire."

After reading some thoughtful positive reviews of the latter film I'm less confident with this analogy, but The Zero Theorem feels like Lucy as made by a much more creative director but which still doesn't quite succeed because of the difficulties inherent to this creativity. It's a movie which never compromises its vision in order to appeal to a general audience, but in throwing out the playbook on how to write a story it…

I’m sure Sid Sheinberg is laughing his ass off.

Those who know me, know I’m a Gilliam fanboy, and sometime apologist. Brazil has stood the test of Letterboxd time, staunchly remaining my forth favourite despite competition from probably more worthy newcomers. I love that film. Dystopian sci-fi is amongst my favourite sub-genres and anything falling in that category will always get an easier ride with me, and another created by Gilliam, you would almost think it would get a free pass. Well, not quite.

I’ve seen casual remarks comparing The Zero Theorem to my beloved Brazil .. often citing it as a ‘companion piece’. Well, in some ways I’d have to say that’s true on the most basic level. Our…

''0 zero must equal 100%. Good Luck.''

My oh my how the far the mighty (Gilliam) fall when they are working from an undercooked screenplay. So the story goes (Wikipedia): ''Pat Rushin was inspired to write the film by the book of Ecclesiastes (the Hebrew title of which is קֹהֶלֶת, Qoheleth, meaning "Gatherer", but traditionally translated as "Teacher" or "Preacher"), which he felt suggested such questions as "What is the value of life? What is the meaning of existence? What's the use?" Rushin wrote the 145-page first draft in ten days, with "no idea what [he] was doing". He checked several screenwriting books and screenplays out from the UCF library, including Terry Gilliam's Brazil.'' and if this quotation is indeed…