Zero Effect (1998) Hyper Neo Noir Riff on Sherlock Holmes

"A Clever Black Comedy Neo Noir, a real hoot!" (Noirsville)

Written and directed by Jake Kasdan.

Cinematography by Bill Pope. Music by The Greyboy Allstars. Full Soundtrack credits here.

The film stars Bill Pullman as Daryl Zero, Ben Stiller as Steve Arlo, Ryan O'Neal as Gregory Stark, Kim Dickens as Gloria Sullivan, Matt O'Toole as Kragan Vincent , and Angela Featherstone as Jess.

"The Case of the Man Who Got So Stressed-out Over His Lost Keys That He Eventually Had a Heart Attack And it Turned Out They Were in the Sofa All Along."

Bill Pullman as Daryl Zero

Ben Stiller as Steve Arlo

Ryan O'Neal as Gregory Stark

Kim Dickens as Gloria Sullivan

Angela Featherstone as Jess

Matt O'Toole as Kragan Vincent

The Premise. Daryl Zero is "The Worlds Most Private Detective," "The Greatest Private Investigator In The World." Its mostly a riff on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Nero Wolfe. 

In fact we may even venture to say Daryl Zero's powers of deduction exceeds Sherlock's and is more akin to Holmes' older brother Mycroft. Daryl is fond of disguises like Holmes, has multiple I.D.'s, and plays an electric guitar rather than a violin. Daryl also sings to his compositions and has a bit of a Bob Dylan sandpapery voice and style. Holmes used cocaine Daryl likes speed - bennies, uppers, goofballs. The nod to Nero Wolf is that Daryl rarely leaves his apartment and like Wolf's assistant Archie Goodwin has his secretary Steve Arlo doing a lot of the legwork.

Daryl Zero: I've been awake for three days. Three... Just love those amphetamines. Got to love them. Got to.

Steve Arlo: Sounds healthy.

Daryl Zero: It's good for my skin. You know if you do enough of that stuff over a very short period of time, you get, like, these canker sores on your tongue.

Daryl lives in a Los Angeles penthouse. A private elevator takes you to the outer safe-like outer door to his hallway. His actual apartment door has a ridiculous number (six or seven) of dead bolt locks. 

Up to the penthouse

The safe door entrance to Daryl Zero's apartment

Multiple dead bolt locks

His pad looks like a yard sale. Daryl's kitchen is stocked, apparently, with just cans of Campbells soups and  tuna fish. The fridge is crammed with Tab. 

A fridge full of Tab

As Sherlock Holmes has Doctor Watson as a gofer, researcher, and sleuthing associate, Daryl Zero has Steve Arlo. The film begins with Arlo up in Portland, Oregon interviewing the next potential client billionaire Gregory Stark. Arlo very professionally explains Daryl's particular eccentricities. 

Steve Arlo: It's an uncompromising standard of his practice. He never meets any of his clients. He doesn't speak with them, or, for that matter, communicate in any direct fashion. That's his policy. But I am his sole representative and he is my only employer; and as such, I have full authorization to speak on his behalf on all his matters of business. I have with me a signed letter to that effect. He doesn't negotiate his fee. He works at a flat rate. Under some unusual circumstances, he'll work pro bono - never in between.

This interview is juxtaposed with cuts of Steve "Crying into his beer" to his drinking buddy / lawyer Bill about Daryl Zero's socially inept misanthropic tendencies.

Bill the lawyer

Steve Arlo: [talking to Bill about, Daryl Zero] I'm telling you he never even leaves the house, okay. I mean he's like some kind of recluse. Complete freak. No social life. In fact, no social skills. It's a strange fucking thing. When he's working, the smoothest operator you've ever seen. Brave, slick, cunning, can do anything. Soon as he gets off work, it's all gone. Afraid to go to the dry cleaners. Literally. Too uncomfortable in his own skin to go out and eat. Tactless and inept. Rude, too. Just an asshole.

Back to the Stark interview...

Steve Arlo: He can elicit a confession from a criminal without their realizing they're being questioned.

Gregory Stark: How does he do it?

Steve Arlo: He has a deeply nuanced and thoroughly functional understanding of human behavior to rival the great psychoanalytical minds of our time. He understands the criminal mind as well as the innocent mind, the stable mind as well as the psychotic, sociopathic mind. The male, as well as the female.

Stark tells Arlo that he had the key to a safety deposit box stolen and that he is being blackmailed. The payoffs $100,000 at a shot are elaborate affairs, the instructions seemingly the equivalent of "Rube Goldberg" machinations. 

They involve specific types of discrete leather bags, wearing certain types of clothing, and pagers set to vibrate mode. Stark is to arrange to leave his office at five, has to be at a certain intersection at a certain time, and then drives until the pager displays a set of digits. He is to next drive his car to the point where his odometer matches the numbers on the pager and park. He then, with the payoff in hand, walks to the nearest bus stop. He is to get on the next bus that arrives and ride it until the pager displays three digits. He is then to get off the bus and board the tram that displays the same three digits.

On the tram

He then must board the first car and sit in the most forward available seat. When the pager goes off again, he must exit the tram go to the corresponding number street address and enter the building.

Putting the money into the toilet tank

Inside he must find the nearest men's room, and go to the last available stall. There, he must lift the lid of the toilet tank and put the money into the plastic bag concealed within. Once done, he is to exit and find the nearest fire alarm. He is then to pull it and finally leave the building.

The case is intriguing enough for Daryl to accept it, and like in your typical hardboiled detective yarn the function of the detective is not really to find clues and solve the case, but it is to shake things up and see what falls out.

Throughout the film we get doses of Daryl's eccentric deducing style philosophy which is, to stay dethatched from the world so that there is no "feedback," no "contamination." to his pure objectivity.  "The Zero Effect" Daryl instructs us with these in humorous Voice Overs that are combined with Daryl's hilarious deadpan looks that signify deep though:

Daryl Zero: I always say that the essence of my work relies fundamentally on two basic principles: objectivity and observation, or "the two obs" as I call them. My work relies on my ability to remain absolutely, purely objective, detached. I have mastered the fine art of detachment. And while it comes at some cost, this supreme objectivity is what makes me, I dare say, the greatest observer the world has ever known.

Deep Thought

Daryl Zero: Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them.

Deep Thought

Daryl Zero: A few words here about following people. People know they're being followed when they turn around and see someone following them. They can't tell they're being followed if you get there first.

Deep Thought

Daryl Zero: I can't possibly overstate the importance of good research. Everyone goes through life dropping crumbs. If you can recognize the crumbs, you can trace a path all the way back from your death certificate to the dinner and a movie that resulted in you in the first place. But research is an art, not a science, because anyone who knows what they're doing can find the crumbs, the where's, what's, and whos. The art is in the whys: the ability to read between the crumbs, not to mix metaphors. For every event, there is a cause and effect. For every crime, a motive. And for every motive, a passion. The art of research is the ability to look at the details, and see the passion.

Deep Thought

Daryl Zero: Passion is the enemy of precision. Forget the misnomer 'crime of passion'. All crime is passionate. It's passion that moves the criminal to act, to disrupt the static inertia of morality. The client's passion for this dead woman had facilitated his downfall. And the blackmailer's passion will facilitate hers. When you live with no passion at all, other people's passion come into glaring relief.

Deep Thought

Daryl Zero: When you spend enough time around the chemistry of desperation, you come to recognize the smell. One desperate element is combustible. More than one desperate element is lethal.

Noirsville

Dayrl's bogus drivers licenses

Dayrl's bogus drivers licenses

This was Jake Kasdan's debut film. He managed to juggle Classic Detective Mystery, Neo Noir, and a quirky and un-likely Love Story into a highly entertaining film. Bravo! 

All of the actors are extremely compelling in their portrayals, the relationship between Daryl and Gloria is very well written, touching, and genuine. Its a 10/10 for me.