Go
A supermarket clerk decides to step in for an absent drug dealer, setting off an explosive, comedic chain of events.
Despite its modest budget of $6.5M, Go became a financial success, earning $28.5M worldwide—a 338% return. The film's distinctive approach found its audience, proving that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
5 wins & 7 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Go (1999) demonstrates meticulously timed dramatic framework, characteristic of Doug Liman's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 42 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Ronna Martin
Simon Baines
Adam
Zack
Todd Gaines
Claire Montgomery
Mannie
Marcus
Main Cast & Characters
Ronna Martin
Played by Sarah Polley
A grocery store clerk who gets in over her head dealing ecstasy to make rent money.
Simon Baines
Played by Desmond Askew
A reckless British club kid who drags his friends into chaos during a wild Vegas trip.
Adam
Played by Scott Wolf
A soap opera actor coerced by police into a sting operation involving his drug dealer.
Zack
Played by Jay Mohr
Adam's boyfriend and soap opera co-star who gets pulled into the police sting.
Todd Gaines
Played by Timothy Olyphant
A mid-level drug dealer with paranoid tendencies who becomes Ronna's reluctant supplier.
Claire Montgomery
Played by Katie Holmes
Ronna's co-worker and friend who gets left as collateral during a drug deal.
Mannie
Played by Nathan Bexton
Ronna's loyal friend who helps her with the drug deal scheme.
Marcus
Played by Taye Diggs
Simon's friend who accompanies him on the chaotic Vegas adventure.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Ronna sits exhausted in a diner booth on Christmas morning, visibly worn and disheveled. The image establishes her as someone at the end of a long night, setting up the flashback structure that will reveal how she got here.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Adam and Zack approach Ronna at the grocery store asking to buy ecstasy, but Simon has already left for Vegas. Ronna faces a choice: lose the sale or step into Simon's dangerous world. Her financial desperation makes the offer impossible to refuse.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Ronna leaves Claire with Todd and takes the ecstasy to meet the buyers. She has crossed from being a broke grocery clerk into active drug dealing. There's no going back—she's committed to this dangerous path and responsible for Claire's safety., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Todd discovers Ronna sold him fake drugs (she replaced the ecstasy with cold medicine). Furious, he demands his money back. The false victory of escaping the sting collapses as all of Ronna's problems converge—she's in deeper trouble than before., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 76 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Todd hits Ronna with his car in the parking lot, leaving her for dead in a ditch. This is the literal "whiff of death"—Ronna lies bleeding and unconscious, her desperate scheme having led to what appears to be her end. Claire screams helplessly., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 82 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Ronna regains consciousness—she's alive. The cat that Todd thought he killed also survived. This resurrection moment marks the turn into Act 3, as the survivors must now deal with the consequences and find resolution., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Go's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Go against these established plot points, we can identify how Doug Liman utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Go within the crime genre.
Doug Liman's Structural Approach
Among the 11 Doug Liman films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Go represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Doug Liman filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Rustom and The Whole Ten Yards. For more Doug Liman analyses, see Swingers, The Bourne Identity and Chaos Walking.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Ronna sits exhausted in a diner booth on Christmas morning, visibly worn and disheveled. The image establishes her as someone at the end of a long night, setting up the flashback structure that will reveal how she got here.
Theme
Simon tells Ronna about his Vegas trip, casually suggesting she cover his drug dealing shift: "It's just supply and demand." This crystallizes the film's theme about young people making dangerous choices for quick money in a transactional world where everything has a price.
Worldbuilding
The world of late-90s LA youth culture is established through the grocery store workplace, Ronna's desperate financial situation (facing eviction), her friendship with Claire, and the casual drug economy that surrounds them. Simon's exit to Vegas creates the opportunity that will disrupt everything.
Disruption
Adam and Zack approach Ronna at the grocery store asking to buy ecstasy, but Simon has already left for Vegas. Ronna faces a choice: lose the sale or step into Simon's dangerous world. Her financial desperation makes the offer impossible to refuse.
Resistance
Ronna debates how to make the deal happen. She visits Todd Gaines, Simon's supplier, and negotiates to buy drugs on credit using Claire as collateral. The stakes escalate as she navigates a world she doesn't fully understand, with Todd serving as a dangerous guide into the drug underworld.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Ronna leaves Claire with Todd and takes the ecstasy to meet the buyers. She has crossed from being a broke grocery clerk into active drug dealing. There's no going back—she's committed to this dangerous path and responsible for Claire's safety.
Mirror World
Ronna realizes Adam and Zack's apartment is a police sting when she spots the cop in the closet. Claire's absence—left behind as collateral—highlights the cost of Ronna's choices. The Mirror World shows the paranoid, dangerous reality beneath the casual drug culture.
Premise
The "promise of the premise" delivers three wild interconnected stories: Ronna escapes the sting, dumps the drugs, and scrambles to repay Todd; Simon's Vegas adventure with the British lads spirals into chaos involving a strip club, a stolen car, and a gun; Adam and Zack's dinner with Burke reveals their compromised situation.
Midpoint
Todd discovers Ronna sold him fake drugs (she replaced the ecstasy with cold medicine). Furious, he demands his money back. The false victory of escaping the sting collapses as all of Ronna's problems converge—she's in deeper trouble than before.
Opposition
Pressure mounts from all directions: Todd hunts Ronna for his money, the police investigation continues, Simon's Vegas situation explodes with Tiny's shooting and the car fire, and the rave becomes a pressure cooker where all characters converge. Each storyline's problems compound.
Collapse
Todd hits Ronna with his car in the parking lot, leaving her for dead in a ditch. This is the literal "whiff of death"—Ronna lies bleeding and unconscious, her desperate scheme having led to what appears to be her end. Claire screams helplessly.
Crisis
The aftermath of the collision: Claire believes Ronna is dead. Simon returns from Vegas to chaos. The timelines converge as the characters process the catastrophic results of their choices. The dark night reveals the true cost of their casual criminality.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Ronna regains consciousness—she's alive. The cat that Todd thought he killed also survived. This resurrection moment marks the turn into Act 3, as the survivors must now deal with the consequences and find resolution.
Synthesis
The finale weaves all threads together: Todd faces consequences when Tiny's crew arrives seeking revenge for the Vegas incident. Adam and Zack's marriage subplot resolves. Simon deals with the fallout from Vegas. Ronna, wounded but alive, reunites with Claire at the diner.
Transformation
Ronna sits in the diner booth—the same image from the opening, now with full context. Bruised and bandaged but alive, she's asked to cover another shift. "Same time tomorrow?" The circular structure suggests she hasn't fully learned, but she survived. The transformation is simply: still standing.