New York, New York. The U.S. military draft is back.
You have thirty days to report . . .
DAY ZERO follows the lives of three best friends in
New York City who have thirty days to come to terms with
their fate - the draft is back and they've been called
to serve.
Dixon, Rifkin and Feller grew up together in New York.
Living very different lives in the same city, their childhood
friendship still binds them. Rifkin (Chris Klein) is a
married lawyer whose career is on the rise. He's just
made partner and is looking for any loop hole to get out
of serving. Now "just isn't a good time" for
him. Feller (Elijah Wood) is working on his second novel.
The first was a smash success, but his draft notice paralyzes
him, causing severe writer's block. Instead he draws up
his list of "Top 10 things to do before I serve."
Dixon (Jon Bernthal) drives a cab, lives a solitary life
and is proud and ready to serve - until he meets someone
and finally has something to lose. Over thirty days, they
will find their relationships tested as they confront
long held beliefs about life, death, courage and love.
View the trailer here:
Pictures:
Cast:
Elijah Wood,
Chris Klein, Jon Bernthal, Ginnifer Goodwin, Elisabeth Moss,
Ally Sheedy, Sofia Vassileva
Directed by: Bryan Gunnar Cole
Review:
Set in post-911
America, in a fictional world where the draft is back, Day
Zero is a character study of three young men in the thirty
days leading up to when they are supposed to report for military
duty. The movie is not only socially relevant to our time,
but tests the limitations of friendship and loyalty as the
three protagonists explore what it means to serve with honor.
The movie's cinematography lends to the gritty feel of
New York City, and the scenes are artfully infused with
a sardonic and very real sense of humor that prevents the
movie from turning into an overemotional drama. The ninety
minutes of film was the perfect time-span to allow you to
be drawn into the characters' lives, and I found myself
asking what it is I would do if I were put in their place.
The actors and their believable portrayals of the characters
are essentially what makes this movie work. Elijah Wood
has an outstanding performance as an underdeveloped neurotic
writer, and Chris Kline was convincing as a well-to-do lawyer
married to a cancer survivor. However, the most noteworthy
performance was that of up-and-coming actor Jon Bernthal
who played a street-smart, tough but honorable, cab driver.
Bernthal's uninhibited character seemed to be the driving
force throughout the movie, and the actor is certainly one
to look out for in the future.
Although Day Zero is clearly a politically themed message
movie, the writer did a fair job of presenting both sides
of the draft issue, and personally, I feel that neither
perspective was overstated. Overall, the only problem I
had with the movie was its open-ended final scene which
seems to be the trend in many recent films. However, unlike
plot-driven Hollywood flicks, at least the characters in
this movie were developed enough for the viewers to make
an educated guess as to the outcome.
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