United Kingdom, 1996 U.S. Release Date: Summer 1997 Running Length: 1:26 MPAA Classification: R (Mature themes, profanity, sex) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, 5/8/97 & 5/10/97
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Juliet Aubrey, James Nesbitt, Sophie Okonedo,=20 Darren Tighe, Berwick Kaler, Sean McKenzie, John Brobbey,=20 Sara Stockbridge Director: Michael Winterbottom Producer: Andrew Eaton Screenplay: Paul Powell and Jimmy McGovern Cinematography: Dafydd Hobson Music: Alistair Gavin U.S. Distributor: Gramercy Pictures
Few screen romances are as touching, as tragic, and as life=20 affirming as the one shared by Nick (Robert Carlyle) and Karen (Juliet=20 Aubrey) in director Michael Winterbottom's GO NOW. While the film is=20 ultimately about the effects of multiple sclerosis upon both a body and=20 a relationship, GO NOW is not the exercise in depression the material=20 might make it seem to be. Winterbottom, who took an equally=20 unsentimental approach to his adaptation of Thomas Hardy's JUDE THE OBSCURE, avoids numerous melodramatic pitfalls on the way to making Nick=20 and Karen's experiences with the disease real, believable, and=20 manipulation-free. By including a copious amount of lowbrow humor and=20 occasionally using black-and-white freeze-frames with amusing captions,=20 Winterbottom never allows GO NOW to become too much of a downer.
The film starts at the beginning -- the beginning of Nick and=20 Karen's relationship, that is. They meet one night at a pub while Nick,=20 a construction worker with a passion for soccer, is out having drinks=20 with his best friend, Tony (James Nesbitt), and Karen is in the company=20 of her roommate, Paula (Sophie Okonedo). While Tony aggressively=20 pursues sex with Paula, Nick and Karen connect in a quieter, more=20 meaningful way. After a few chance meetings on the street following=20 their initial encounter, they start dating. The relationship quickly=20 becomes serious, and the two move in together. Only then does Nick's=20 disease begin to assert itself. In this way, Winterbottom allows us to=20 get to know the characters before introducing complications.
It starts slowly, with minor symptoms: double vision, numbness of=20 the hands, and a lack of bladder control. Nick goes for tests and is=20 diagnosed to have MS. GO NOW doesn't use a didactic, "movie of the=20 week" approach to the subject. It doesn't explain what MS is, why=20 people get it, or how they can live with it. Instead, the film=20 concentrates on showing the condition's debilitating effects on Nick,=20 and, equally important, on his perfectly-healthy partner. It's rare for=20 any motion picture about a disease to take such a blunt, uncompromising=20 look at how it can erode the foundation of even the most loving=20 relationship. Sunk in frustration and self-pity, Nick frequently lashes=20 out at Karen, torn between wanting her to leave him alone in his misery=20 and needing her to help him. For her part, Karen loves Nick dearly, but=20 his moodiness threatens to drive her into the arms of another man, if=20 only for a brief respite from Nick's rancor.
Another interesting aspect of GO NOW is how it addresses the=20 quandary that Nick's friends find themselves in after he has been=20 stricken. They're caught between walking on eggshells and trying too=20 hard to make it seem like he's still just "one of the guys." None of=20 them walks the line adeptly, and one of Tony's jests cuts Nick deeply. =20 Still, the difficulties Nick's friends have adjusting to his condition=20 are minor compared with the conflicted emotions that Karen experiences.
The acting in GO NOW is superlative. Robert Carlyle, who was good=20 in RIFF-RAFF and TRAINSPOTTING, is amazing here, using body language,=20 facial expressions, and vocal intonations to convey his character's=20 experience to the audience. Juliet Aubrey (Dorothea Brooke in the 1994=20 BBC version of MIDDLEMARCH), whose portrayal of Karen is just as=20 forceful and multi-faceted, never allows herself to be eclipsed by=20 Carlyle. Even in the most dramatically powerful scenes, she stands toe- to-toe with him. Members of the supporting cast, especially James=20 Nesbitt (JUDE, HEAR MY SONG), are no less solid.
With its rich and varied emotional texture, GO NOW is a movie that=20 you feel deep in the heart, with a pair of characters, Nick and Karen,=20 who are so vivid that they stay with you long after the theater lights=20 have gone on. Coupled with JUDE (which was made after this film), Go=20 Now illuminates the director's keen, unerring insight into the=20 complexity of emotions and situations that movies too often reduce to=20 familiar clich=E9s. Wrenching, passionate, and unforgettable, GO NOW=20 hardly makes a misstep from beginning to end.
