Killing Zoe (Review)

Killing ZoeUpon release Killing Zoe was hailed as the spiritual brethren of Pulp Fiction. I didn’t see it then and I sure don’t see it now.

And which film is mentioned more frequently and fondly these days…?

But while it might not warrant mention in the same breath as Tarantino’s finest, Killing Zoe does have the right to exist. Quietly. And in the corner.

Zed (Eric Stoltz) heads to France for a bank job. But first he decides to bang a hooker named Zoe (Julie Delpy). Fair enough for Zed I guess, but what he didn’t count on was falling in love almost instantly with young Zoe.

No time for love Dr Jones. No sooner has Zed made goo-goo eyes at Zoe (no doubt they are already fascinated by the possibilities of having two ‘z’s on their stationery) that the other members of the gang show up, lead by Zed’s old schoolchum Eric.

Eric is loud and obnoxious. He reminds Zed that tomorrow’s job is huge and important and cannot be messed up. Then he takes him out for a boozy and bleary night on the town filled with drugs, drugs and more drugs… Followed by some drugs.

How could the job possibly go wrong?

Killing Zoe obviously wants to draw parallels and comparisons with Tarantino, only it cannot back up the unspoken claims. Where QT has dialogue filled scenes that are witty and verbose, KZ merely has long scenes where the characters talk a lot. Where QT punctuates proceedings with occasional moments of startling violence and delicious black humour, KZ has guys shoot other guys a lot. Noisily.

I could go on. But I don’t want to.

Final Rating – 6 / 10. The first problem was casting Eric Stoltz and thinking that he would be the bridge between this and Pulp. The second, more serious problem, is everything else…

About OGR

While I try to throw a joke or two into proceedings when I can all of the opinions presented in my reviews are genuine. I don't expect that all will agree with my thoughts at all times nor would it be any fun if you did, so don't be shy in telling me where you think I went wrong... and hopefully if you think I got it right for once. Don't be shy, half the fun is in the conversation after the movie.
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