Only God Forgives

Refn made a name for himself with the film Drive and decided that his approach must work every time. And so, once again, we get a gritty spectacle with blood splattering, stoic acting performances, long shots that mostly say nothing, and familiar faces, which Refn has been successfully incorporating since Valhalla Rising. The first half hour is fine and could bring almost anything, even a Tarantino-style bloodbath, but Refn won't give you that. He continues to stylize his film and does things his own way. I have to say, his approach to violence simply works for me. It looks incredibly good and realistic, which is enhanced by the use of a static camera. However, Julian's fight with the mob boss is an utter travesty. Unfortunately, the second half of the film is really about nothing, and the violence alone just can't save it. It's a shame because the start was much more promising. (2014-01-06)

Thanks to Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn conquered the world, only to drive away his newly discovered fans away with his dream project. A hypnotic atmosphere that compels you to immerse oneself in every dark shot is an amazing thing, but the slow storyline is so self-absorbed that I can't go any further, not even for Ryan Gosling's indecipherable gaze. In Bangkok everyone is betting on him more than ever before, and I honestly felt sorry for any audience members who have already had enough of Gosling's silent charisma. Personally, I still fawn over him instantly, but considering the surprisingly strong feeling that this is an empty fable set in perfect visuals, this time around I am indeed disappointed. (2013-10-21)

Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling were apparently surprised by how successful Drive was with the general public. That’s what gave them the courage to work with even heavier themes than Drive had. They say that there is power in simplicity, and this is exactly what Drive was. A dynamic camera, an oppressive atmosphere supported by great music and, in essence, a very simple premise. Only God Forgives has all these elements, but it is still quite brutal, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Asian movies with mafia characters in the lead are simply like that. But to top it all off, they talk even less and everything takes a really long time, which was perhaps the biggest issue the movie had. It would have been dynamic otherwise. Some of the intentionally long and meaningless shots have a message for a split second, but all the atmosphere disappears within a single moment because nothing really happens in the movie. The electronic music is also sparse, and all that initial enthusiasm quickly fades away in less than half an hour. One then looks at Ryan, who thinks that his charisma will do all the work, but he apparently does not understand that if he doesn’t speak, the viewer can’t form an opinion about him. Even so, I respect the creators’ efforts. The movie’s completely different from a classic film production and deserves great respect. Drive was the work and success of the moment. But Only God Forgives is its indistinct shadow. (2013-11-01)

Had it not been for the success of Drive, Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas would’ve never agreed to star in Only God Forgives, a film so anti-audience that I doubt it will get a wider cinema release in the US. A not exactly model American family operating in Bangkok makes a local machete-wielding police chief very angry. Who is related to whom is revealed only gradually, with the steadily rising body count. Everyone is a psycho either raping fourteen-year-olds, dealing drugs or poking people’s eyes out. Omnipresent darkness, deliberately placed lanterns and neon images, dragon symbols in the red half-light, slow-moving figures, dark or psychedelic music, and Ryan Gosling staring into space as hard as never before. The film plays with audience expectations, misleads, hypnotizes, scares, sometimes fascinates, but does not provide any final satisfaction. Vithaya Pansringarm’s cop is a properly demonic sadist, while the mother played by Kristin Scott Thomas is a properly unscrupulous bitch. A strange movie that will make you think, but doesn’t come to any conclusions. (2013-05-30)

A pseudo-art game with symbols, vague characters, and a story about revenge and (lack of) forgiveness, in which fantastic cinematography and the unintentional ridiculousness of Gosling's vacant stare reign supreme. Overall, it’s enough for the biggest movie pose and epic fail of the year because I haven't seen a movie in a long time that shows so much of what it wants to be and works exactly the opposite way; I want to read a long analysis of it by a film theorist. (2013-09-21)