Zero Day

In the haunting, elegiac Elephant Gus Van Sant turned the Columbine tragedy into cinematic poetry; in this much more forceful, intense picture, newcomer Ben Coccio does it up in the style of in-your-face cinéma véritJ. The mock documentary Zero Day tells the story of Andre and Cal, two alienated kids modeled after Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, mostly through the form of a supposed video diary the boys compile in the months preceding the assault on their hated high school. The keys to the film's success lie in Coccio's skill in mimicking a reality-TV look, coupled with the lead performances by Andre Keuck and Calvin Robertson, who are thoroughly convincing as a pair of blithely disaffected teens. The diary device, moreover, limits our perspective largely to that of the teens, allowing the characters to preen and pose while delivering their pronouncements and utterly banal complaints (and also makes the shift during the final acting out--presented from a discreet distance, as caught on school security cameras--all the more shocking). The gritty, naturalistic approach of Zero Day carries considerable kinetic power, but even though the picture is mostly notable for its surface punch, it also boasts some surprisingly subtle undercurrents, offering an intriguing counterpoint to the more serene, detached Elephant. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Ben Coccio, and costars Andre Keuck and Calvin Robertson, a “making-of” featurette (9 min.), home movie footage (3 min.), a screen test of Keuck and Robertson (2 min.), the brief featurette “Making the Crosses,” storyboard and film festival photo galleries, a liner notes essay by Henry Jenkins, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a powerful indie film.] (F. Swietek)