Your mind wanders as you watch Go/Don’t Go, the low-budget Indie written, starring and directed by Alex Knapp, in which it is gradually revealed that he’s the last man on earth, so far as we can tell.
Adam (Knapp) is the only guy around. He lives inside his head, remembering his love K (Olivia Luccardi) and reliving their courtship. But mostly, Adam’s way of coping with the unimaginable loneliness is to keep doing the everyday mundane chores that he always did: putting mail in the box, clocking in at work, leaving food for the dog (unseen in the movie). And he hits baseballs pitched to him by a batting practice machine long into the afternoon.
None of these things is particularly cinematic. That’s what makes them mundane chores in the first place, right? For the first act of the film, Knapp, as director, sets up a moody slow burn. The film doesn’t rush to reveal everything at once. It’s only later that we see that it’s not going to reveal much at all. It raises great questions, but leaves your curiosity on the floor, in favor of a more arty, less-is-more vibe.
And that’s fine. If 10 people in a room all paint the same vase of flowers, the end result, as we know, will be 10 paintings that are similar, but notable for their differences. There are some interesting ideas at play here and this film played a lot of festivals where it was well received by some. Its production values are top shelf.
But the lonely man who goes through the motions of everyday life, even with no sign of life around him, is just not quite enough to sustain one’s interest.
And that’s why your mind wanders. You think how brilliant a device it was to give Tom Hanks a volleyball to interact with in Cast Away. You try to list in your head all the times a “Last Man on Earth” story has been made, which reminds you that 1964’s “The Last Man on Earth” is on YouTube this very minute for free. In Black and White and Color!
And you think about how sweet and funny and underrated the Fox sitcom The Last Man on Earth with the great Will Forte was.
And all the while, Adam is checking his mail, clocking in at work, leaving dog food in the dish and remembering a woman who apparently looked past his complete lack of an engaging personality and fell in love with him.
Go/Don’t Go reviewed by Kyle Osborne. 1 ½ out of 4 Stars. Available on Demand and Digital through iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, Direct TV, Dish Network and all major cable providers in North America. Photos courtesy: Kamikaze Dogfight/Gravitas Ventures. More details on the official website: https://www.godontgo.film/
