`GO NOW' GOES THE EXTRA DISTANCE.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

A little extra grit goes a long way toward making ``Go Now'' better than your average disease-of-the-week movie. Some fine British actors - ``The Full Monty's'' Robert Carlyle foremost among them - help, too.

And the fact that the screenplay grew out of a workshop of writers with multiple sclerosis, and incorporates many of the experiences and feelings co-scripter Paul Henry Powell went through with the disease, gives the picture a verity rarely found in this formulaic genre.

Things do get a bit sentimental toward the end, and Powell and co-writer Jimmy McGovern (``Priest'') don't quite achieve their stated goal of avoiding the hand wringing that's typical of these things. But most of the movie's emotionalism rings true, and even its substantial comedy plays naturally while providing relief from the grim goings-on.

Carlyle's Nick Cameron starts out as a happy-go-lucky Scottish plasterer, living in Bristol, England, and having good times with his soccer teammates. One night, Nick and his sex-obsessed pal Tony (the winning James Nesbitt) pick up two girls at a dance club. Karen Walker (Juliet Aubrey), who winds up with Nick, turns out to be the love of his life.

This is expressed in some very carnal sex scenes, so when Nick starts losing control of his muscles, there's no doubt what a double disaster it is for this very physical man. As the MS progresses, he does not take it nobly, or even well. And Karen doesn't necessarily respond to Nick's anger with the patience of a saint.

The filmmakers, who include the talented if over-serious director Michael Winterbottom (``Jude,'' ``Welcome to Sarajevo''), are smart to focus on the effect of Nick's condition on the relationship. It makes for a more accessible story about trust, need and, most intriguing, the tricky concept of sacrifice in a situation that defies obvious notions of who's giving up what for whom. It hardly needs saying that, in doing all of this, ``Go Now'' never abandons the specifics of Nick and Karen's problems.

As in ``Trainspotting'' and ``Monty,'' Carlyle once again proves he's one of Britain's most mesmerizing and versatile young actors. True, he has that malady gimmick that inevitably makes for a powerful performance working for him here. But he works astonishingly hard just the same, twisting his body and voice in remarkably difficult and convincing contortions.

It's a tribute to both Carlyle and Aubrey that, even with such showy (but necessary) actorly pyrotechnics, the most memorable moments in this classy disease movie come from the ways two people can't help feeling about each other.

The facts

The film: ``Go Now'' (not rated; language, nudity, sex, drug use, mild violence).

The stars: Robert Carlyle, Juliet Aubrey, James Nesbitt.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Written by Paul Henry Powell and Jimmy McGovern. Produced by Andrew Eaton. Released by Gramercy Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 28 minutes.

Playing: Goldwyn Pavilion, West Los Angeles.

Our rating: three stars

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PHOTO After a casual pickup, Karen (Juliet Aubrey) turns out to be the love of Nick's (Robert Carlyle) life in ``Go Now.''