Killing Zoe

Lets not beat around the bush here - "Killing Zoe" is a good film. Coming from writer/director and best friend of a certain Mr. Q. Tarantino, it has a lot to live up to... and manages magnificently.

Zed (Eric Stoltz) is the American in Paris who gets in way over his head when he hooks up with a band of nihilistic bank robbers, lead by his old (and not too close) friend Eric (Jean-Huges Anglades). He's the safecrackers who's blissfully unaware that the Bastille Day bank robbery he's up for is a botch job from the word go.

It has to be said that the title is somewhat misleading - the film is only tangentially about Zoe. No far, more attention is given to Eric, who has, to be blunt, totally lost it from a life of hard drugs and a death sentence from AIDS. By the time we first meet him he's strung-out, out-of-control, and certainly not the kind of person any self-respecting thief would want to be working with.

The film manages to capture that dark, grating edge of reality that seems to be the tardemark of Tarantino films, as an audience you know it's not real, but you cannot help wanting to believe in the story unwinding on the screen. Unlike Tarantino's though, Avary keeps this film strictly chronological - there is no crazy jumping around in time, and the plot is easy enough to follow, whilst still keeping a number of subtle twists in reserve.

"Killing Zoe" is a coarse movie, in the same vain as "Reservoir Dogg's" was, but still leaves you smiling like you did when you saw "True Romance" (which incedently, Avary co-wrote with Tarantino).

When I first saw this film it was with an open mind - I didn't really know what to expect, except that I expected it to be good - I wasn't disappointed. It has many cool moments, and indeed I reckon it's worth seeing just for the scene where Zed takes something of a 'seriously far out' trip, you'll know the bit I mean when you see it. Come along and enjoy.

Alex Craig