2023 Chicago International Film Festival Movie Review: Club Zero

Club Zero is a bizarre, quietly terrifying film about blind faith and following new trends led by a terrific lead performance by Mia Wasikowska.

Ms. Novak (Wasikowska) takes a job at an elite prep school teaching a new health class about what she calls “conscience eating”. Less than a dozen students join her class, but Ms. Novak has an immediate effect on them. Teaching the kids her conscience eating method seems simple enough, as she just has the students focus on learning to control their portions, how many times they eat throughout the day, and things that normal dieticians might recommend. As the bond between Ms. Novak and her students becomes stronger, her methods become more extreme, pushing the kids to nearly starve themselves.

Co-writer/director Jessica Hauser crafted one of the stranger thrillers I have seen in 2023. Set amongst a colorful, seemingly picturesque backdrop of this elite private school and the nice homes of the kids’ parents, Club Zero grows increasingly more uncomfortable and twisted as the movie goes on but does so without leaning heavily on overly dramatic music or blatant scenes of intensity. It is a slow-burn movie, but Hauser ratchets up the tension and makes you squirm in your seat as Ms. Novak’s methods get more and more intense and the kids fall further under her spell, leading up to one of the grossest scenes I have seen in any recent movie.

Wasikowska gives one of the best performances of her career as Ms. Novak. She gives an entrancing and creepy performance as a woman who basically becomes a cult leader to her students. Whatever she says, the kids will do. She keeps a calm attitude, and a smile on her face. Even when people question her methods, she stays poised and never raises her tone.  Her chemistry with the kids, all of whom are interesting and give good performances, is perfect and you really feel their bond and feel them falling for Ms. Novak and her ways. You can’t look away from Wasikowska and her performance makes you wonder more about Ms. Novak. Much like how the students and parents see her, Hauser gives us very little information about Ms. Novak, but Wasikowska’s charismatic performance makes you wonder about her past, her motivations, and why she chose this school and how she started these classes. It’s outstanding work from a great actress.

The final scene of Club Zero is a bit confounding and I’m still not sure what to make of it even days after seeing the film. But I couldn’t look away from Club Zero thanks to the patient direction of Hauser and the stellar performance by Mia Wasikowska.

Club Zero played in the Spotlight category of the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

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