Mr Zero has a terrible home life and a robotic work life. He is rewarded for years of faithful service at the accountancy firm where he works with the sack. He is replaced by an adding machine. In blind fury he murders his boss and is executed for his crime. He ends up in a sort of half-way heaven where he is told he must return to Earth and live another life seeing as souls don't come cheap.
It's not really very surprising to learn that this film was based on a play, as it's very stagey and uncinematic. I guess the title doesn't so much refer to the device that replaces Mr Zero so much as it is meant to describe the man himself. After all, he seems to live a very robotic life and is treated with utter indifference by those around him. He might as well be a machine for all the difference it would make. So there are certainly ideas under the surface of this satirical comic fantasy that's for sure. Unfortunately, I found it somewhat uninvolving overall. I think it was down to a combination of the stagey presentation and the alienating characters. The acting is certainly good, with Phyllis Diller in particular making a mark as Mr Zero's awful wife. Watch out too for a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance by former Eastenders actor and stand-up comic Mike Reid in a role as a prison guard.
It's not really very surprising to learn that this film was based on a play, as it's very stagey and uncinematic. I guess the title doesn't so much refer to the device that replaces Mr Zero so much as it is meant to describe the man himself. After all, he seems to live a very robotic life and is treated with utter indifference by those around him. He might as well be a machine for all the difference it would make. So there are certainly ideas under the surface of this satirical comic fantasy that's for sure. Unfortunately, I found it somewhat uninvolving overall. I think it was down to a combination of the stagey presentation and the alienating characters. The acting is certainly good, with Phyllis Diller in particular making a mark as Mr Zero's awful wife. Watch out too for a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance by former Eastenders actor and stand-up comic Mike Reid in a role as a prison guard.