Day Zero

I saw "Day Zero" twice during its run at the Tribeca Film Festival and would have welcomed a third viewing. From seeing the trailer at the film's website (http://www.dayzerothemovie.com/) I knew the story dealt with future reinstatement of the military draft in the United States and how three friends spent the thirty days between receiving draft notices and reporting for duty. I was immediately drawn into the film and the lives of these men; I cared about them and what they were going through. The film is character driven and director Bryan Gunnar Cole succeeds brilliantly in getting inspired performances from the talented, but mostly not well-known (to me, at least) cast.

Chris Klein very convincingly plays George, an upwardly mobile New Yorker, who at a young age, has recently made partner in a prestigious law firm. He does not want to jeopardize his career, does not support the war still playing out in the Mideast and diligently searches for ways to dodge the draft. He considers everything from seeking the help of his influential father to self-mutilation – an edge-of your-seat scene. Nor does he want to leave his wife (Ginnifer Goodwin) who has just been declared cancer-free after a five-year battle.

Jon Bernthal is excellent as Dixon, a street-smart cab driver who willingly defends his friends with his fists, but is the solid, caring anchor in the life of a young girl in his building who prefers spending time with him to dealing with her drug addled mother. Sofia Vassilieva is marvelous as the young Mara and I fully expect to see more great work from her in the future. Dixon is eager to serve, which causes friction with his friends' opposing beliefs, but falling in love (Elizabeth Moss) suddenly complicates his life.

The very talented Elijah Wood (and best-known cast member) once again displays the amazing versatility we've seen in all his post-"Lord of the Rings" films. His character, Aaron, is the most interesting and complex. He's a young writer with a successful book who is working against a deadline on his second book. He's clueless, out of shape, bewildered, estranged from his family and in his seventh year of sessions with an apathetic, inept psychiatrist (well done by Ally Sheedy.) He's also certain his draft notice is a death sentence. As Aaron attempts to toughen up and complete his 10-item "to do" list before going off to war, Wood provides some wonderful moments of comedy, which appear in all the right places.

"Day Zero" is ensemble acting at its best and cinematographer Matthew Clark's extensive use of a hand-held camera is perfect for creating a you-are-there empathy with the characters. This is a terrific film that pulls you in and makes you wonder, "What would I do?" It is not a political film; it's a perfectly cast people film and you will love these people. I hope it gets a distributor and the wide release it deserves.

I was fortunate enough to be a the 4-29-07 NYC premiere screening of Day Zero, starring Elijah Wood, Jon Bernthal and Chris Klein. The story is about the turmoil created in the lives of these men after they receive a draft notice.

Wood is Aaron Feller, a sensitive, troubled, young writer, frightened by life's challenges, who decides he needs to explore more of what life has to offer but ends up, instead, releasing some inner demons. Klein is George Rifkin, a married, successful attorney with a politically connected father, who might get his notice quashed. Unfortunately, Rifkin misdirects his rage and lashes out at the wrong persons. Bernthal is Dixon, a take charge kind of guy whether he's being a Prince Charming to a pubescent neighbor or Savior to his friends. You get the sense he's always been totally in control of his life but surprisingly finds himself falling in love and for the first time must struggle with his choices.

I didn't know what to expect going in but I enjoyed the movie quite a lot and felt all three actors had good chemistry as well as some great scenes together. There were some light moments but this is a serious and compelling drama.

The Draft as a means for supplying the armed forces with manpower ended with the Vietnam War. DAY ZERO is a thought provoking film that raises the question of how today's youth would respond were the Draft reinstated as a result of the ever-growing Iraq War. Writer Robert Malkani and director Bryan Gunnar Cole respond to the question by creating three characters, long time friends, but each with a different response to the forced servitude in a wartime situation. As with any film dealing with controversial subject matter there are ideas presented that will disturb just about everyone no matter their stance on compulsive servitude, and it is that aspect that makes this film work so well in jolting our thinking.

The time is New York, now, and the media has just announced the reinstatement of the Draft to cope with the drained national volunteer army. Three friends receive their draft notices simultaneously: successful lawyer George Rifkin (Chris Klein) whose marriage to a cancer survivor wife Molly (Ginnifer Goodwin) is part of the solid state of life he resists changing; fantasy writer Aaron Feller (Elijah Wood) who is in progress on a novel he must finish while his life is otherwise rather on shaky ground, controlled by his loopy therapist (Ally Sheedy); cab driver James Dixon (Jon Bernthal) who has a past history of being a loner and attempting to control violent behavior. The gamut runs from refusal to even consider the draft (Rifkin) to being nonplussed by the disruption to his psyche (Feller) to gung-ho ready to fight Dixon. The three young men have thirty days to Day Zero and in those thirty days each undergoes profound changes and introspection and self-discovery that very keenly illustrates the effect that such a governmental edict can have on today's youth.

This is ensemble acting that rivals that of any fine film: there are no stars here, only actors portraying emotional changes that are universal in nature. And for a first film by director Cole it succeeds on most levels. In addition to the work of the four main actors there are fine cameos by young Sofia Vassilieva and by Elisabeth Moss. The film is meant to raise questions, challenge our current complacency and our views of the concept or war and military obligation. That it is disturbing is part of the power of the work. Grady Harp

The idea of the movie is not bad: three guys get drafted and we get to have part of their feelings, emotions and fears for the last 30 days before day zero, the day they have to sign in for the army.Those three guys are very different characters, they have nothing in common so we wonder how can they actually be friends.Apart from that, the film is very realistic.It gets also political on the war in Iraq and it shows both conflict parties: those for the war and those against it.It shows us who are the people supporting the war: lower class,propaganda brainwashed, uneducated, ordinary people from the street like cab driver Dixon, who thinks that fighting in Iraq is defending the freedom in America. His friend, lawyer Rifkin sees no point in the war and tries to use his daddy's connections to get "undrafted".The third guy is writer Feller (Wood) who doesn't really have an opinion because his mind is too occupied with the fear of dying in the war.He is weak, mentally and physically. The film is good, good acting, good script.I don't regret seeing it and I'm sure most people wont.It's not a must see, but if you come across it you should give it a chance.Seven stars for being good but not special.

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. A

Edward C. Patterson