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At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Go (1999)

Rating

[2.0]

Reviews and Comments

Go could not have ripped off Pulp Fiction more without lifting actual characters right from it. Like that film, it tells separate interlocking stories, each prefixed with the name of the character it's about. Like that film, it is wall to wall drugs, violence, and deviant sex. Unlike that film, it lacks the wit and intelligence to make it intriguing instead of sickening.

The first of the three stories isn't bad. It's about a young woman who is just resourceful enough to get herself in big trouble with cops and drug dealers. It's full of ironic turns of fate, which make for an amusing black comedy. But the second story is horrendous, and the third is little better. By the time all three stories are wrapped up in a pretty good collective epilogue, it's too late.

The problem is that the makers of Go knew the words to Pulp Fiction but not the music. It seems to figure that crude bickering and references to pop culture cover all the bases, but it doesn't even begin to. There is no artistry in the dialogue. There isn't even a sense of character in it. As an example, consider the opening shot -- a woman is musing to her unseen friend that one day earlier, who'd have thought they'd be sitting and talking together? My problem? By the time we learn the context of this conversation, I still can't believe they would be sitting and talking together.

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