Signature Entertainment presents Zeros and Ones on Digital Platforms 7th March & DVD 4th April.
Synopsis
Zeros and Ones is a high stakes, gritty and tense action thriller from legendary director Abel Ferrara (The King of New York, Bad Lieutenant) and starring Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke (Training Day). Called to Rome to stop an imminent terrorist bombing, soldier J.J. (Hawke) desperately seeks news of his imprisoned rebel brother, Justin (also Hawke), who holds knowledge that could thwart the attack. Navigating the capital’s darkened streets, J.J. races to a series of ominous encounters, hoping to keep the Vatican from being blown to bits.
Review
Look outside your window and you could be forgiven for forgetting that a pandemic still rages on in the outside world. In the world of Abel Ferrara’s Zeros and Ones, the pandemic is the backdrop from an intense and passionate thriller which aims to reflect our troubled world and amplify it with a terrorist plot to destroy the Vatican.
With a curfew in full effect, American soldier, J.J. (Ethan Hawke) searches the streets of Rome in an attempt to uncover the impending terrorist plot. Along the way he hits a series of seedy, dingy and dangerous locations which all feel perfectly picked to drive home the darkness which lurks behind closed doors.
Then there’s J.J.’s twin brother (also Hawke) who is also caught up in the madness. With its less-than-subtly religious undertones, the subplot around his torture and interrogation adds further motivation to J.J.’s mission.
Zeros and Ones filmed during Italy’s second lockdown. That lockdown also fell during the cold winter months, making the city an even more unrelenting host to the production. The bleak circumstances benefiting Ferrar’s equally bleak story. Sean Price Williams’ cinematography also seeks to amplify the desolation and despair but takes things a step to far. At times it becomes difficult to understand what is happening in the frame. The darkness over the city is overwrought and I found myself repeating scenes to pick up on details I had missed the first time around.
The film hangs on Hawke’s performances. The actor pulls triple duty, appearing before and after the film to discuss the production process. His performance is impassioned and devout to the final frame. He brings an authenticity to his various roles which really makes the film what it is. Another Hollywood-shirking, auteur-driven thriller.
Verdict
Abel Ferrara’s Zeros and Ones is a dimly lit but passionate thriller. Though its story is chaotic, a dynamic performance by Ethan Hawke makes the film a compelling watch.
⭐⭐⭐
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