Writer-director Patrick Jerome’s Go Chase Yourself starts off with audiences viewing a woman restlessly sleeping through what appears to be a crystal ball, for lack of a better term. It seems odd, made even more so by the now awake woman’s voice-over opining about a road trip to go see the man of her dreams. Who is she? Who’s scrying on her? Who is the man of her dreams? It is all confusing and does not make a strong first impression.
Smash cut to an armored car robbery. The ringleader of the criminals, Rob (Jason Gervacio), is happy that the three thieves did not have to kill anyone to obtain their ill-gotten gains. Now, the three of them separate, with Rob holding onto the money until the heat dies down. However, his long-suffering wife, Tessa (Gretel Munday), discovers the loot and kicks him out of the house.
The story shifts back to the woman from the beginning. Here, it is revealed that her name is Maria (Amanda Rodriguez) and that she is going to see the distraught Rob. The history between the three leads is parsed out in flashback as Rob tries to stay ahead of the cops in the present day. Will Rob be able to mend his ways? Does he remain with Tessa or go with Maria? Does either of the women still want him after learning of his cheating and illegal activities?
“…his long-suffering wife, Tessa, discovers the loot and kicks [Rob] out of the house.”
Outside of the odd first few minutes, Go Chase Yourself suffers from iffy acting, specifically from Gervacio. While he plays the hot-tempered criminal well enough, the thespian is not charismatic enough for audiences to fully buy that he’d have multiple women fighting for his affections. He is angry and a criminal, so what’s the appeal? Granted, he is very good-looking, so that could be it.
Happily, the triangle only makes for a small portion of the plot, as it is much more about how these women try to get out from under his thumb. Munday is good as the put-upon wife, and she brings the right amount of warmth and anger to the part. Throughout the movie, Maria sees visions of herself that scare her, and Rodriguez performs the confusion and horror well. She is especially great at the very end, but that’s all that’ll be said there to avoid spoilers.
Jerome’s direction of Go Chase Yourself is pretty good, as once audiences know who is who, he maintains a solid pace and keeps up the mystery of the leads’ interconnectivity. While a few lines don’t sound natural, the dialogue works and flows smoothly most of the time. The magical/horror elements ultimately work as well, as they add significantly to the fantastic conclusion.
Go Chase Yourself, which is just a cool-sounding title unto itself, is a flawed, slightly confusing watch. But, once the foundation and characters are set up, it moves well, and the way the filmmaker wraps it all up is excellent. As such, the dramatic thriller is worth checking out at least once.
"…maintains a solid pace and keeps up the mystery..."
