The Zero Theorem is a 2013 science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Mélanie Thierry and Lucas Hedges.

Written by Pat Rushin, the story is about Qohen Leth (Waltz), a reclusive computer genius tasked with solving a formula that will determine whether life holds meaning.

[5] Gilliam has given conflicting statements about whether The Zero Theorem is meant as the third part of a satirical dystopian trilogy ("Orwellian triptych") that began with 1985's Brazil and continued with 1995's 12 Monkeys.

[6][7][8] In the bizarre cyberpunk future of the mid-21st century, Qohen Leth, an eccentric and reclusive programmer who refers to himself in the plural, works crunching "entities" for the ontological research division of a large company called Mancom.

Though he points to the fact that all of his hair has fallen out as evidence he is dying, three company doctors determine he is physically healthy but they do require he start sessions with Dr. Shrink-Rom, an AI therapist.

Qohen spends months locked in his home working on it and becomes increasingly deranged, as the "entities refuse to remain crunched" and Mancom's demands for processed data are relentless.

She cleans up a bit and they talk, and Qohen confides that the call he is waiting for is a call-back from someone he once accidentally hung up on who he believes will tell him the meaning of life.

He is troubled that the Sun never sets on her beach, so she invites him to imagine an environment for them to inhabit, and he ends up sending them to a vortex around a black hole that has been haunting his dreams.

Back on the beach, Bainsley comforts Qohen and they embrace, but when he suggests they stay in the virtual world together and denounces Management, he is forcefully disconnected from the system and his VR suit is remotely destructed.

Finding himself in front of the Neural Net Mancrive, a massive supercomputer that is the destination for all of the entities crunched by the employees of Mancom, Qohen is greeted by Management, who tells him Bob has been hospitalized due to a chronic illness.

Qohen was chosen to work on the Zero Theorem because his obsession with receiving his phone call demonstrated that he was a man of faith, which represented the antithesis of Management's project.

Qohen destroys the Neural Net, which blows open, revealing the black hole vortex from his nightmare inside, though now there are countless pictures, including one of Bainsley, swirling toward the center.

A later iteration of the project, which would have starred Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Biel, and Al Pacino and been directed by Gilliam, was set to begin production in 2009,[12] first in London, and then in Vancouver.

Plans to film with this cast fell through when Gilliam pulled out to complete work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which was put behind schedule by the death of its star, Heath Ledger.

"[24] He also commented on the difficulty of producing such a film in the current industry climate, saying: "This was a more modest budget than some of the big effects movies I've worked on but it's going to look so good on the screen.

"[24] In an e-mail sent to production designer Dave Warren, Gilliam concisely stated the look he intended for the film: "Neo Rauch + Ukulele Ike = The Zero Theorem".

[24] A lounge music version of Radiohead's song "Creep" performed by Karen Souza is heard in the film when Qohen visits Bainsley's website and over the closing credits.