It's easy to discuss 'Killing Zoe's problems; they are, after all, plentiful and in clear view. It's hard to deny, though, that it's an incredibly entertaining movie. It's important not to be misled by the treacherous phrase 'from the creators of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction'; Killing Zoe was directed by Roger Avary, who may has a co-writer's credit on Pulp Fiction but his part in it was quite small; in Reservoir Dogs all his actually did was write the radio dialog that runs in the background. Quentin Tarantino was executive producer, but clearly had no influence on the creative side of the movie. The presence of Tarantino's name on the Killing Zoe DVD is a double-ended sword; on the one hand, it's what made me notice it and pick it up in the first place, and I'm sure it helped a lot in the film's sales when it was first released. On the other, it inevitably creates some high expectations, and these can hinder your enjoyment from the movie, as they did mine. Because while Killing Zoe shares with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction some themes of crime, drugs, sex and honor among thieves, it shares none of Tarantino's witty, sarcastic edge and cultural awareness.
If, however, you remember to steer clear of these expectations and if you like this kind of movie, of course then you're bound to enjoy Killing Zoe. It's a fast-paced, entertaining crime story with lots of violence, some sense of humor, some sex and a lot of atmosphere. Very good performances are also given by the beautiful Julie Delpy ("the prostitute with a heart of gold") and Jean-Hugues Anglade ("the psychopathic sadist"), who plays one of the coolest villains of the 90's (who's more than a bit similar to Gary Oldman's fantastic Agent Stansfield from 'Leon'), and these two almost make up for the unimpressive leading man we have in Eric Stoltz who, though he made a fine career for himself playing small character roles in fantastic films from Pulp Fiction to Singles, had not proved himself as a capable lead since his breakthrough performance as a disfigured boy in Mask who plays a rather unlikable and uninteresting hero.
Killing Zoe is a featherweight film with absolutely no depth to the story or characters, that generally likes waving around the sex and violence for the sake of sex and violence, which are sometimes unnecessarily excessive (like the far too long sex scene at the beginning, or the gory image of the dying man near the end); it's not a very intelligent crime movie, and it won't stick with you, but it's great entertainment, with fantastic atmosphere, and for any fan of the genre one who is not easily offended (and you'll be amazed at how dirty a dirty joke sounds in French even if you don't understand one word) - it's well worth seeing. Keep your expectations low, and you'll have lots of fun.
If, however, you remember to steer clear of these expectations and if you like this kind of movie, of course then you're bound to enjoy Killing Zoe. It's a fast-paced, entertaining crime story with lots of violence, some sense of humor, some sex and a lot of atmosphere. Very good performances are also given by the beautiful Julie Delpy ("the prostitute with a heart of gold") and Jean-Hugues Anglade ("the psychopathic sadist"), who plays one of the coolest villains of the 90's (who's more than a bit similar to Gary Oldman's fantastic Agent Stansfield from 'Leon'), and these two almost make up for the unimpressive leading man we have in Eric Stoltz who, though he made a fine career for himself playing small character roles in fantastic films from Pulp Fiction to Singles, had not proved himself as a capable lead since his breakthrough performance as a disfigured boy in Mask who plays a rather unlikable and uninteresting hero.
Killing Zoe is a featherweight film with absolutely no depth to the story or characters, that generally likes waving around the sex and violence for the sake of sex and violence, which are sometimes unnecessarily excessive (like the far too long sex scene at the beginning, or the gory image of the dying man near the end); it's not a very intelligent crime movie, and it won't stick with you, but it's great entertainment, with fantastic atmosphere, and for any fan of the genre one who is not easily offended (and you'll be amazed at how dirty a dirty joke sounds in French even if you don't understand one word) - it's well worth seeing. Keep your expectations low, and you'll have lots of fun.