NEW YORK -- If Quentin Tarantino isn't careful, he'll become a parody of himself. He is one of the executive producers of this first feature by Roger Roberts Avary, and it's yet another heist movie, a poor man's ''Reservoir Dogs, '' the latest in what is becoming the most popular genre for indie pictures. Showcased at the last Sundance festival, ''Killing Zoe'' is now opening commercially.
There's no absence of filmmaking talent, but the script is severely undernourished, filled with stylistic flourishes and much action but little in the way of character development or interesting dialogue.
The picture is set in Paris during Bastille Day. Zed (Eric Stoltz), an American safecracker, has arrived to help his buddy Eric (Jean-Hugues Anglade) pull off a bank job. Severely jet-lagged, he decides that he will recover with the help of a prostitute, helpfully provided by his cab driver. Zoe (Julie Delpy) is no ordinary hooker, however; she's a college student trying to make ends meet, and she and Zed form a real connection.
The bond is broken when Eric shows up and unceremoniously boots her out, prior to a night out on the town with the gang, during which they all take enough drugs to kill a horse. When Zed wakes up, severely hung-over, it is already time for the job.
The group doesn't have much of a plan, and needless to say, things go awry. Eric, it turns out, has AIDS and doesn't have much patience when things go wrong or when the hostages are uncooperative. Soon, bodies start flying, and the mayhem is of the ultra-violent kind.
Although the first half of the film is slow and draggy, the robbery itself is undeniably exciting, and Avary has a real flair for action work. Still, the robbers are so stupid that we care nothing about what happens to them, unlike the gang in ''Reservoir Dogs, '' all of whom had personality to spare.
KILLING ZOE
October Films
A Davis Film Production
Executive producers Rebecca Boss, Quentin Tarantino, Lawrence Bender
Producer Samuel Hadida
Co-producer Jeff Schectman
Director-writer Roger Roberts Avary
Editor Kathryn Himoff
Director of photography Tom Richmond
Cast:
Zed Eric Stoltz
Zoe Julie Delpy
Eric Jean-Hugues Anglade
Francois Tai Thai
Ricardo Bruce Ramsey
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
There's no absence of filmmaking talent, but the script is severely undernourished, filled with stylistic flourishes and much action but little in the way of character development or interesting dialogue.
The picture is set in Paris during Bastille Day. Zed (Eric Stoltz), an American safecracker, has arrived to help his buddy Eric (Jean-Hugues Anglade) pull off a bank job. Severely jet-lagged, he decides that he will recover with the help of a prostitute, helpfully provided by his cab driver. Zoe (Julie Delpy) is no ordinary hooker, however; she's a college student trying to make ends meet, and she and Zed form a real connection.
The bond is broken when Eric shows up and unceremoniously boots her out, prior to a night out on the town with the gang, during which they all take enough drugs to kill a horse. When Zed wakes up, severely hung-over, it is already time for the job.
The group doesn't have much of a plan, and needless to say, things go awry. Eric, it turns out, has AIDS and doesn't have much patience when things go wrong or when the hostages are uncooperative. Soon, bodies start flying, and the mayhem is of the ultra-violent kind.
Although the first half of the film is slow and draggy, the robbery itself is undeniably exciting, and Avary has a real flair for action work. Still, the robbers are so stupid that we care nothing about what happens to them, unlike the gang in ''Reservoir Dogs, '' all of whom had personality to spare.
KILLING ZOE
October Films
A Davis Film Production
Executive producers Rebecca Boss, Quentin Tarantino, Lawrence Bender
Producer Samuel Hadida
Co-producer Jeff Schectman
Director-writer Roger Roberts Avary
Editor Kathryn Himoff
Director of photography Tom Richmond
Cast:
Zed Eric Stoltz
Zoe Julie Delpy
Eric Jean-Hugues Anglade
Francois Tai Thai
Ricardo Bruce Ramsey
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 8/19/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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