Rent Killing Zoe (1993)

A nasty, tasteless & depressing film which, despite the talented cast, spirals into banality - Killing Zoe review by TB

Conceived in the same period as Reservoir Dogs, plus boasting an executive producer credit from Quentin Tarantino, this attempted to appeal to the same crowd who propelled that film to the stratospheric heights it reached. However, whereas Dogs featured a whip-smart script, excellent music & brilliant characters, Killing Zoe has nothing apart from a real nastiness to offer.

Zed (Stoltz) flies to Paris to help old friend Eric (Anglade) rob a bank during a national holiday. Whilst being taken to his hotel from the airport, Zed is offered the services of a prostitute, which he accepts. Zoë arrives and Zed falls in love with her. The following day at the bank, Zed realises to his horror that Zoë works there. She is then taken hostage after the planned escape falls apart, forcing Zed to go against his gang to save her.

Whilst there is some tension which is generated from the beginning of the robbery, plus the chemistry between Stoltz & Delpy is good, everything else is appalling. The tone of the film, after being relatively interesting in the opening scenes, just descends into unbelievable nastiness & cruelty. One scene involving Eric & some hostages is just wilfully repugnant to try & get a reaction. Then, as the film goes on, it just keeps scraping the bottom of the barrel for more shocks.

Whilst he might be a good scriptwriter, Roger Avary's talent for not only good stories, but any kind of competent direction & storytelling desert him here. This is basically an endurance test in watching bile being thrown at the screen. Although I made it to the end, I never want to see it again.