10 Movies You Weren't Supposed To Understand
3. Only God Forgives
One of the best films of the 2010s was Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. The film was universally praised for its acting and direction, its story and cinematography, and everyone was excited for what Refn was going to do next.
But his two movies since, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon, were divisive for audiences and critics. Where Drive had a simple and comprehendible plot that was easy to follow, his later directorial entries were lacking that specific element - especially Only God Forgives, which played like an extreme reaction to everyone expecting it to be Drive 2.
Before the movie had released, fans were excited as it seemed to be a promising follow up feature to Drive, staring Ryan Gosling once again in the protagonist role and filled with the same neon colours as harsh violence.
Unfortunately, what we got was not alike to the beloved film, but a confusing, style-over-substance movie that left viewers wanting. Not even the movie's star understood the film in its entirety!
It may seem harsh to compare the two movies just because they had the same director and lead actor, but it certainly set expectations for audiences who were not expecting such an abstract, art house movie that intentionally disregarded any semblence of narrative coherency.