Go

Go was the closest I ever got to rave culture (or drug culture, really).

I just never cared about that stuff. I came of age listening to Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye spout off about straight-edgery, so this film didn't resonate with me in that way.

Instead, I just liked seeing a film with young people (instead of the usual gangsters) with a twisty plot that jumped about in time and spun out in all these directions from the perspective of different characters. For me, John August's script had all the best elements of '90s film.

I had a copy of Go on glorious VHS, and I took that tape with me to film school, along with Doug Liman's other, better film, Swingers. Although film school was a real growing experience for me, I was creatively bankrupt. I was reaching for whatever seemed like a motivator or an inspiration. Everything I wrote was garbage. No, really. And no, you can't read any of it.

After seeing Swingers, I was pretty stoked to hear Liman had made another film, and I wasn't disappointed with Go. This isn't a film that stands up well to many repeat viewings, but revisiting now and again is interesting, if only to see how the music, hair, and clothing styles slowly get more and more dated.

Also, I really enjoy watching William Fichtner's slow burn. "It's Confederated Products. It's a different company. It's a different quality of product." The whole bit about the pyramid scheme seems so random, but still fits so well here. Kudos to John August for getting that bit to work here.

I suppose even though I was never into all the culture, I pulled my share of all-nighters out with people. I used to get so cold then, when sleep deprivation and a dash of hungry took over just as the temperature reached the coldest point of the night. You get a specific kind of shivering then -- part exhaustion, part freezing, part excitement.

Sometimes on those nights, I'd roll the windows down to keep myself awake on the way home (on nights I went home). I miss those nights. I miss that shivering. Luckily I can put on Go now and then and get a snapshot.