Day Zero (2007)

Very Cool!!!

Lack of good storyline.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This movie addresses the reality of our times. Its a movie that can take on a common thought for everyone in my generation. I am a 22 year old male who knows people who fight and have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The reality of the draft can be overwhelming. I don't want to pretend that I have a unique perspective, because I think many people my age have adopted the same unique understanding that I have. What I am trying to say is that I treat our soldiers like everyone I know. There is so much tension in this world...with the economy, and with the war. You have to treat soldiers with the utmost respect, and this can only be done by sharing a relationship. This movie takes on the task of understanding the war without denying the truth. The truth is that men and women serve to protect our country, but what they go through emotionally is beyond our comprehension. As much as we can argue, the people who serve believe in our freedom. I want more movies like this that can address what goes on in the mind of the people who are willing to give their lives. Sometimes, a man doesn't know that he is willing.

I doubt this film will ever serve as anything more than film school proof that a good story idea and a couple star actors alone do not make a film, even if you set it in New York City.The film largely focuses on the 3 draftees reactions as their report day approaches. While you can appreciate some of the inconsistencies and complexities in character, it's also largely cliché characters and some of the inconsistencies defy all logic, both formal and psychological. The ending looked like, for a moment, it was going to resolve all this and make up for the complete lack of insight the rest of the film provides, but once again fails. The result is a mess that's more annoying than entertaining.

The movie takes place in the near future, where a draft has been re-instated and three friends in New York find themselves faced with their own fears and beliefs as they deal with their call to serve. George a successful lawyer, Dixon a tough-as-nails cab driver, and Feller a writer with a host of insecurities, face their inner demons in the thirty days they are given to report to duty. I was lucky enough to see this movie at Tribeca, not once, but three times. I loved it more each time and got to enjoy all the little nuances I missed from previous viewings. New York was the perfect setting for this movie and the city is like another character in the film. This is a very character driven story and there is not one weak performance in the lot. Everyone is wonderful, with the stand-out performances being Ginnifer Goodwin as George's wife, Sofia Vassilieva in a small but effective part, and Elijah Wood who manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in one of his best roles to date. A touching a thought-provoking film, this one is not-to-miss.

It's 30 days before DAY ZERO, when three friends are to be drafted into the army during the raging war in Iraq. They react to the news and somehow come to terms with reality. On this simple (even thin) premise, Brian Cole crafts a well balanced 90 minutes, which manages to cloud a specific or biased point-of-view. Sure, there's anti-war clambering and patriotic posturing. There's plenty of flag waving and flag burning, but this film is not about the draft or serving one's country. As a reviewer who has already been drafted to face a war (in Viet-nam) and had to grapple with decisions that would ultimately shape the remainder of my life, I know this film is about "the inner self"—the draft being the catalyst and the reactions mere symptoms to the rumbling of the human spirit or the lack there of.The three stars carry the film a long way and beyond. Chris Klein as George Rifkin represents the majority view, that the draft is a life interrupter. One never gets the impression that George is a coward. He just wants to continue his law practice, enjoy his family and wife; and ultimately, his anti-draft stance festers from resentment to anger. Jon Bernthal as James Dixon represents the patriotic view, that "it had to happen sooner or later," and everyone should stand up and fight terrorism. He is a violent and disturbed man, short fused and drives a taxi for a living, quite a contrast from George. He imprints his views on his friends without hesitation, but when he meets a girl, his views are somewhat tempered. Elijah Wood, in his best performance on screen to date (yes, even better than Mr. Baggins), plays Aaron Feller, a naïve, fragile man, who has just published his first novel and is working on the second. He is thrown into a panic by the draft notice. He looks for help in all the right places, and doesn't find it. He then looks in all the wrong places, and does. He manages to face his inner demon and takes the appropriate corrective action.The three friends interact with great chemistry. While Wood carries the film's main theme and presents it with pathos and comedy, the more political and preachy messages come from Klein and Bernthal. Bernthal's raging approach to life is engaging. He is always there for his friends, but not without cost. He chews up the scenery. Klein, on the other hand, gets the more conventional row to hoe, with everything from draft dodger to conscientious objector. He whines and bleats and tears his hair out (figuratively. Wood loses his, literally). Between Bernthal and Klein, we have Macbeth and King Lear, so it is up to Wood to bring the real interest. He crafts his character from thin air, as his scenes are mostly interspersed vignettes that are visually appealing and pathetically comic. In fact, Wood's sense of comedic timing matches the great stars of cinema, like Chaplin. He takes us from entertaining comic relief to riveting drama as Aaron takes a roller coaster ride from naïve to psychosis in 30 days to Day Zero.This film has only been screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, where I am sure it will win awards and be picked up by a distributor (if not, the film industry is blind). It demonstrates that in the hands of a thinking director, three strong actors can create storms in tea cups. It also provides the viewing audience with Elijah Wood's best of many great performances on celluloid, and for an actor nearing his 40th film, it is a landmark. AEdward C. Patterson