Excellent but underrated film

An Exercise In Nonsense

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

AFTER reading some viewers reviews HERE I DECIDED to watch this feature because it is reportedly "balanced". after i DID watch it, at least i know which style and type of posts i should be avoiding from now on...straight to the point, this is a PRO- war movie( very cunning, i give it that). it definitely targets young "stand-up" guys and attempts to give people a subconscious reason as why we have to AGREE with what is going on( even have a speech about "choices" people have in America and take it for granted because the youth is the "pussy" generation apparently).basically the whole thing consists of 3 youngsters in their struggle to accept the draft or not. by the time end scene IS happening , the movie has transmitted its propagandistic vibe. while it starts with a very much ANTI- war vibe it leads the viewer to believe that there is ONLY one way.this movie paves the WAY to drafting legislation. (i doubt that will happen simply because this administration will prefer private armies ,"blackwater" for example, that are not responsible to the any international tribunals upon killing civilians)it is doing so by TRYING to make choice easier for you to the point you actually could believe that it IS your choice for the "best"."are you man enough"." the survival of the fittest" , etc... the director forgets that today's youth are BETTER informed then the previous generation and playing with people feelings, in well to know "i am with you" manner. will not get the message across.( apparently, you left someone to its fate like being raped, you have to fix that by going to war to "man-up". people can do that easily here by throwing this administration out of the office as well no?). at one point it even tells new-yorkers that they should be more concerned with doing the "first-strike" because they would be the first target if "someone" acquires "weapons of mass-destruction"( so wait... this actually must be about Iran since everyone knew, by the time this feature was produced,that Iraq had no such "evil" things?). what a DEEP INSULT TO THE 9/11 VICTIMS Memory!another interesting observation is that while playing with the idea of deserting, the option is never considered out of FEAR. well guess what, i am in Toronto, Canada , and we have many American deserters here and they do not seem "pussies" at all. by contrary they are OUTSPOKEN, just as any FREE individual DOES INDEED HAVE THE CHOICE TO do in a democracy. i quiet had a laugh at this aspect particularly.this has been marketed as an "indy" film. i assure it is not.IF the subject matter would been different and not propagandistic i would give this production a 6-7 due to good acting but slower towards the end( another observation point i have in spotting propaganda; when the movie slows down towards end to make sure your sentiments and feelings can properly have a meltdown, get you to sleep, hypnotize, and make your dreams play the role of influencing your conscious when waking up).well, you can TRY to enjoy it if you already have made-up your mind. good luck with that.

**SPOILERS** The film "Day Zero" takes place in the not so very distant future with the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan spilling over their borders and turning into a major regional war in the both Middle and Far East. With the President and Congress having reinstated the military draft that's been dormant since 1973 tens of millions of young Amercans, from 18 to 35 years old, are now in danger of being called up by their government to fight this widening conflict.The movie revolves around the lives of three friends and former high school classmates now having received notices from their local draft boards to report within 30 days to be inducted into the armed services. The three starting with cab driver James Nixon, Jon Bernthal, are anything but excited in fighting a war that they, for the most part, what to have nothing to do with.Aaon Feller, Elijah Wood, has been seeing a psychiatrist Dr. Reynolds, Alley Sheedy, for some seven years about his very deep sense of insecurity in both his personal and, Aaron is a writer, professional life. Aaron and James friend George Rifkin, Chris Klein, is a successful corporate lawyer and has a wife Molly,Jennifer Goodwin, recovering from a five year battle with cancer. All George needs now is to be separated from both his high paying job and ill, but recovering, wife for a two year stint in the hot dangerous and bloody Middle or Far East.The film has the three friends try to come to grips with what their facing with James more or less deciding to get drafted. Being out on the streets of New York City driving a cab is good training, in the dangers he runs into, for James in being a combat infantry man. Aaron who's terrified of everything in life due to his acute insecurity is now on the verge of doing something really stupid to prevent himself from getting drafted.***SPOILER ALERT***It's in the end that Aaron after trying to make up for all the things he missed in life, like becoming a skinhead and getting heavily tattooed like an outlaw biker, does in fact get himself out from being drafted. Aaron does that by making himself totally useless to serve in the US Military or anywhere else. Gerore for his part is going through a life changing experience going from suicidal to finally accepting his fate, being drafted. George soon realized that running away from his responsibility as an American citizen while his good friend James doesn't will only come back to haunt him in the future.The first Hollywood movie that finally confronts what's been happening in the world since the attacks of September 11, 2001 in how it effects everyone in the US, not just those in the volunteer US Military, in putting their butts on the line in fighting for their country. The film "Day Zero" to its credit doesn't go into the political aspects of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Were not battered over the head In if their worth fighting or dying for. The film focus only on the social aspects of serving one's country in times of war regardless of the political underpinning, good or bad, that those in power have in calling for armed conflict against a foreign power.****SPOILERS****The movie ends with a massive on location antiwar demonstration in New York City that actually took place on April 29, 2006 with both George and James as well as the by now mentally disturbed Aaron participating in it. That would be the last day they would have the chance to show what they feel about the war that they soon will be obligated to fight as members of the US Armed Forces.

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

I find myself out of alignment with previous commenters on this one. Let's see: "A perfect study of those who share this fate given by wonderful cast and crew" Perfect? No flaws? Come on."A powerful film about friendship and relations" I wish it had been. The script failed to draw us in and make us care about the characters."A Powerful and Thought-Provoking Character Study" No it wasn't. It could have been. Each character was a cliché. And worse, instead of letting the viewer make their minds up, the script is busy telling us, in case we missed it.The above comments were taken from people who gave this movie 10 out of 10. That's a PERFECT score. A flawless movie. Had they rated it an 8 or 9, then you could expect there to be a difference in taste, in expectation.The acting isn't bad, as much as the script allows it, and the story has a decent premise, but the story relies to much on the audience being American, and the feelings that come with drafts, wars, Duty to country.In the end, this movie attempt to set a mood results in it being too slow and too shallow. It is presented by formula driven characters. A character study it is not. It leaves huge holes in the characters at the same time as it is spoon feeding us the obvious.5 out of 10 because the acting is good, the cinematography is good, but it gets dragged down by the script.