Synopsis for
Day Zero (2007) More at IMDbPro »

In a hypothesized imminent future three close friends receive simultaneous induction notices during a reintroduced U.S. draft to fight in the Mid-east. This is the story of their anguish and soul searching about whether to avoid or accept their luck of the draw. Initially, New York City cab driver Dixon (Jon Bernthal) is pretty gung-ho when the hapless trio meet at their hang-out bar to discuss what has happened. One-time book author Aaron Feller (Elijah Wood) seems kind of apprehensive about entering the military, but he appears prepared to follow Dixon's lead. On the other hand, George (Chris Klein)--the only one of the three who is married (the other two do not even have steady girlfriends)--tells his buddies he absolutely is NOT joining the service. He has just become a junior partner in his corporate law firm, and he has promised his wife Molly (Ginnifer Goodwin)--a cancer survivor--that he will be around to look after her. During the course of the story, Dixon finds a new social worker\teacher lover Patricia (Elizabeth Moss), and bails each of his two buddies out of fights (as he has done since their school days) while decking host George himself during a going-away party at the culmination of an argument about U.S. military policy. Meanwhile, an increasingly despondent Aaron (feeling totally inadequate) tries to bolster his courage by creating a 10-item to-do list and engaging in ever-more-risky behavior. George gets drunk one night and almost chops off his fingers with a kitchen meat cleaver to avoid the draft, choosing to pick a brawl in a gay bar instead--but by the time his wealthy father says his U.S. senator friend can keep George out of the military, George seems reconciled to leaving wife Molly and his law firm for a while. Unfortunately, after checking off the first nine things on his to-do list (and failing at such things as reconciling with his family, finding peace through sex workers, or even through his shrink of seven years, who fires him as her patient), Aaron takes his newly-shaved and tattooed head to the top of his building--and jumps off. The next morning, Dixon is waiting for his friends at Penn Station to start their journey to induction, and only George shows up. The story ends before they can exchange greetings.