alienation as defined by:
1. a turning away; estrangement

Film : Zed and Two Noughts

The film “Zed and Two Noughts” shows the estrangement felt by the two main characters in the film after a car accident which kills both of their wives. Oliver and Oswald Deuce are two brothers which over the course of the film turn away from their regular lives as a way of dealing with the grief of their loss. They become romantically involved with the character of Alba Bewick, the woman who was driving the car during the accident which killed their wives. They also become closer to each other, growing more and more similar in action, thought, and appearance.  Perhaps most significantly, they become increasingly fascinated with the idea of growth, decay and decomposition. Oliver and Oswald retreat into this alternate reality, where they learn to come to terms with death through their alienation from regular life. They become completely detached from the outside world through their obsessions, dealing with painful and uncomfortable situations which would not be easily accepted into regular life. Many aspects of their behavior become matters of contention: They begin a three way love affair with Alba, an older woman, involved in the death of their wives,  who over the duration of the film has both of her legs amputated. They also start to create disturbing time-lapse videos of decomposing life forms. Their obsessions become increasingly perverse; the love affair with Alba leading to their desire to record her body decomposing in death. Eventually, they become so estranged from the rest of reality that they decide to commit suicide, in order to record the decomposition of their own bodies.  This film clearly documents the retreat of Oliver and Oswald Deuce from life towards an obsession with death. In the case of Zed and Two Noughts, it is the grief caused by the sudden death of Oliver and Oswald’s wives which acts as the catalyst into their state of alienation.