The setting is the not-too-distant and not-too-unrealistic future. The U.S. is now at war with Iran (as well as Iraq and Afghanistan), and to keep the military fully-staffed, the draft has been reinstated.

Three childhood buddies—George, Dixon, and Aaron—all get their draft notices on the same day and are given thirty days to report. They reunite to commiserate; but Dixon doesn’t share George’s and Aaron’s dismay. He’s none too happy about giving up his funky ramshackle loft and his cabbie’s pay, but he has no angst at all about serving his country. George, though, is a successful lawyer who has just seen his wife through a battle with cancer, and has little inclination to report. Aaron simply hasn’t lived much of a life, and is reluctant to ship off to what he sees as certain death.

As the three friends count down to Day Zero—that fateful morning when they must report for duty—they struggle with the tension between the desire to enjoy freedom and the need to preserve it. All of them have something to learn.

Those who are either weary or leery of War Pictures can at least rest easy on that score; this film is not about war per se, nor does it even remotely dwell on what the morality of a war in Iran might involve. Rather, it merely takes an Iranian confrontation as its provocative starting point for examining the nature of duty, conscience, and the pursuit of happiness.

At that level, the film works decently. The characters are all written distinctly enough that their dilemmas never boil down to expressions of groupthink, and Chris Klein is particularly good in bringing some real depth to George’s varied conflicts of interest. Jon Bernthal also brings some life to what amounts to a stock character, and Elijah Wood kind of does his usual thing as a confused, directionless young man (you know: kind of like Frodo—only very focused on getting laid before shipping off to Mordor).

But the whole thing comes off as rather schematic. In the first place, it’s a stretch to imagine that these three ex-chums would all get their draft notices on the same day, with the same report date. Dixon’s handling of his budding romance during those thirty days is also a tough sell; and Aaron’s descent into Travis Bickle territory is a little too predictable: with George and Dixon getting the “realistic” and “tough” choices assigned to them, what else can Aaron do? The script would have better served, I think, by focusing more on George and leaving his buddies as mere supporting characters. The ambiguity that director Bryan Gunnar Cole was shooting for (and achieves, really) could just as easily have been nailed with a single character arc.

Still, I’ve seen much worse films than this recently, and from legendary directors like Woody Allen and Sidney Lumet. So Cole should be proud of this very small and worthy accomplishment.

It’s just so much of a downer that I’m not sure a great many people will seek it out; and of those that might, a large percentage will probably be disappointed that the film is not more critical of war in general, and Bush’s policies specifically.

Day Zero is rated R for “language, sexual content, some violence and drug use.” That’s fair. There is a good share of all of those elements, and it all adds up to something that few outside the realm of the young, the male, and the single will likely enjoy. When it comes to kids, stow ‘em if you got ‘em.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Greg viewed a promotional screener of Day Zero.

Also be sure to see Greg’s interview with director Bryan Gunnar Cole.