Go Now

• Director: Michael Winterbottom
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Romantic Drama, Medical Drama
• Themes: Battling Illness, Dying Young, Living With Disability
• Release Year: 1995
• Country: UK
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• MPAA Rating: NR

Plot

This provocative British comedy-drama provides an unsentimental chronicle of a vibrant young man who discovers that he is suffering from multiple sclerosis, and of the woman who loves and supports him. The afflicted man is Nick who loves life and spends his free time playing soccer and hanging out with his pals. One day he meets Karen and they end up moving in together. Their happiness is interrupted by a series of puzzling symptoms that begin to plague Nick. Karen, who has had more education, begins to fear that he has MS, but she says nothing to him. He goes in for rigorous medical tests and Karen's private diagnosis is confirmed. The disease gradually destroys the central nervous system and soon Nick is unable to pursue the things he most enjoys. He begins to retreat into himself and become increasingly bitter and irritable. Despite his anger and pain, Karen stays beside him. At one point, after he is no longer able to have sex, he accuses her of sleeping with her boss. But still the loyal Karen remains until the story's surprising conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Review

Nobody gives each other guff like the Scots. Michael Winterbottom's Go Now gets this slang-laden rapport just right, as the central bunch of rambunctious soccer mates skewer each other viciously, most notably targeting each other's sexuality and sexual prowess. But they lose the air of joking camaraderie when Robert Carlyle's Nick is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and really can't function anymore, as a footballer, breadwinner, or lover. The most fascinating dynamic Go Now explores is how Nick's natural affability is tested by his descent into crippling paralysis, particularly in a social context marked by its emphasis on bravado and self-reliance. It also attacks weighty issues of the responsibility his loved ones feel toward him -- some of whom are tied neither by blood nor a wedding ring. Juliet Aubrey, as Nick's loving but conflicted girlfriend, says it all in her blank, lost stares, perfectly capturing the angst about her duty to the increasingly irascible Nick. The Full Monty's Carlyle is powerful in the central role, and refreshingly, the film doesn't pander to him. Winterbottom's pacing is fascinating in its ability to present snippets of life, rather than drawn-out tug-at-your-heartstrings "scenes." The pacing robs the film of some potential grandiosity, but saves it a well-earned dignity. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Cast

Robert Carlyle - Mick Cameron; Sophie Okonedo - Paula; David Schneider - Doctor; Sarah Stockbridge - Bridget; Juliet Aubrey - Karen Walker; Jenny Jules - Doctor; Sean McKenzie - George

Credit

Frazer Pearce - Art Director, Hayden Pearce - Associate Producer, Sheila Fraser Milne - Associate Producer, Michael Winterbottom - Director, Trevor Waite - Editor, Martin Trevis - Musical Direction/Supervision, Daf Hobson - Cinematographer, David M. Thompson - Producer, Andrew Eaton - Producer, Paul Powell - Screenwriter

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