Only God Forgives was easily one of the most divisive films of 2013, another challenging effort from Nicolas Winding Refn that prior to its release was highly expected to be one of the year's most interesting films, and even a possible awards contender. As it turned out, Only God Forgives was an extremely obtuse but stylistically striking movie, focusing more on Ryan Gosling's middle-distance stare than on fashioning a compelling narrative, and the results were curiously uninvolving. That said, style can take a movie so far, and from an aural and visual perspective, Only God Forgives is absolutely gorgeous. While Refn wastes countless scenes having Gosling silently walk around doing very little, at least Larry Smith's beautiful cinematography helps evoke the neon-infused sleaze of Julian's exile in Thailand. Furthermore, Refn's collaborator on Drive, Cliff Martinez, returned to provide the score for the movie, which was hauntingly memorable and brilliantly energetic all at once, certainly helping to elevate the massively underwhelming drama unfolding on screen. A pretentious, airless farce or a symbolic triumph? Even if you managed to take something away from Only God Forgives, few are going to argue against the fact that it's a superficial enterprise above all else, and its best delights are what we can see and hear, rather than what's on the mind of Refn and the movie's characters.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
