AllMovie

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.