Review of Less Than Zero (1987) by Tony U — 03 Sep 2008

Normally, when think of the term "less than zero", you would think of temperature below freezing, i.e. -1 degree Celsius or colder.

It can also mean being at such a low point in life that one is so depressed, so gone, that they are less than zero, or feel worthless.

This movie focuses on a character played by Robert Downey Jr. who has emotionally and pyschologically gone down the drain, "below zero." His acting in this movie is powerful. You really feel a person systematically self-destructing before your very eyes.

It's primary filming is in Palm Springs, a part of California where young, wealthy socialites are often seen hanging out at during spring breaks or other holidays. It is ironic that Palm Springs is often extremely hot, often over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. How could anything be "below zero" in such a place? Perhaps when one is in hell? That is the perfect metaphor to describe Downey Jr's character's state of mind.

The movie is one of many introductions of the post 80 new wave slacker generation living a sordid life of squander. McCarthy's character symbolizes tradition. The bastion of hope in world that seems hopeless. In this movie, he plays a sort of naive protagonist.

James Spader plays a practical realist and is sort of an intriguing protagonist/antagonist sort of character.

The acting in this movie is profound. All the characters seem to be reacting to the tense and unnatural aspects unveiled in this story much like how the audience member would react if placed in the same predicament.

The ending is clearly depressing and the overall cinematic style sublime, surreal, and even breathtaking at times. The overlying musical theme is well chosen and the symbolisms are not overly fed but naturally placed in the movie such as the scene where McCarthy and Gertzl stumble upon a Coyote that they thought they hit but disappeared. Such illusions ethereally mirror the illusions of grandeur, that false sense of materialistic excitment, and the mirage of happiness that materialism invokes.

Another powerful scene was where Downey Jr. talks to a young 5 year old girl about how women reduce men to nothing. It's such a poignant scene when she kisses him on the cheek. Little scenes like that say so much.

This is an intensely philosophical movie and a great study of a time where the Generation X of the late 1980s was warped in. The movie is also painfully realistic and sheds light on how it must feel like to be transformed from a normal human being into a drug dependant junky.