Film Review: Less Than Zero (1987)

Brett Easton Ellis is an American writer best known for his novel American Psycho, one of the most controversial literary works of late 20th Century, later adapted into a film starring Christian Bale, which is nowadays best known as the source of Internet memes. For Ellis, controversy was nothing new. It started with his debut novel Less Than Zero, which scandalised many oversensitive viewers with graphic depiction of ultra-hedonistic and completely amoral lifestyle of Southern California upper-class youth. Said novel was in 1987 adapted into eponymous film directed by Marek Kanievska.

The plot deals with three young people that graduated in elite Beverly Hills high school – Clay Easton (played by Andrew McCarthy), his girlfriend Blair (played by Jamie Gertz) and his best friend Julian Wells (played by Robert Downey Jr.). Of those three, only Clay has decided to continue with studies and left Los Angeles in order to attend college on the East Coast; Blair decided to pursue career as a model; Julian started record company, financed by his wealthy father. Few months later, Clay returns for Christmas holidays and finds that his friends’ lives have changed – Blair had brief relationship with Julien; both of them use cocaine. Julien’s habit is, however, much more severe and dangerous. The drug not only endangered his health, but ruined his business and relationship with family. Furthermore, he is in serious debt to drug dealer and former friend Rip (played by James Spader) who wants to use him as a male prostitute. Clay, although shocked at first how alien his friends and surroundings look like, try to rescue Julien.

Ellis expressed great displeasure with the film and claims that it has nothing or very little to do with his work. This is quite understandable, because Less Than Zero represents one of the most extreme examples of increasingly prudish and risk-averse late 1980s Hollywood going to great lengths to purge anything “edgy” or potentially questionable from the source material. Harley Peyton’s script removed all the scenes of extreme sex, rape, heroin use, abortions and abuse of pre-teen girls. The script went even further by changing the character of Clay from mainly passive observer who indulges in one-night stand and occasional drug use into conventional protagonist who would stop at nothing to rescue his friend from evil clutches of drug addiction. Film version of Less Than Zero, which puts main emphasis on the destructive effects of cocaine addiction on the children of rich and famous, was in many ways heavily influenced by War on Drugs and it can be interpreted as part of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign.

All that both helped and hurt the film. The plot became subservient to the anti-drug message and oversimplified. British director Marek Kanievska, hired because he had managed to make questionable characters likeable in his 1984 drama Another Country, seems a little bit lost in the glitzy and shiny world of Los Angeles upper class. Too much time is spent in luxurious mansions, loft apartments and “cool” night clubs, presented by spectacular cinematography Edward Lachman, dominated by purple and blue tones, very much in a way people like to imagine 1980s. At the same time, characters and their motivations, at least in case of Clay and Blair, aren’t properly explored. Casting also leaves much to be desired. McCarthy tries very hard, but he can’t do much with one-dimensional character; he also lacks chemistry with rather underwhelming Jamie Gertz. On the other hand, James Spader is chillingly effective as sinister and smooth-talking drug dealer. The best work belongs to Robert Downey Jr. who was brilliant in the portrayal of self-destructive cocaine addict in downward spiral. This performance is even stronger in light of similar problems Downey later had in real life and who would later comment on by stating that the role of Julien for him was “ghost of Christmas future”. Looking at the great actor inadvertently facing the demons that would plague him in real life might be interesting for his fans or over-inquisitive cinephiles, but this isn’t enough to compensate for slow pace, weak soundtrack and other flaws that make Less Then Zero just another missed opportunity of 1980s Hollywood.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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