5. Ryan Gosling Doesn't Act
To call Gosling's performance in Drive somewhat Spartan would probably be an understatement - he speaks very minimally, and is rather wonderfully defined more by action; he is The Driver, and thus he drives. But in comparison to what he offers in Only God Forgives, that performance feels like a bloated grand-stand. As Julian, the vengeful gangster-type locked in Oedipal conflict and love and vengeance, without so much of a hint of real engagement with any of them, he is practically commatose on screen. In total he speaks something like 15 lines in the entire film, and spends probably 90% of the rest of his screentime in close up, staring off pensively into middle distance as the camera practically drools all over him. It seems the mythologising of Gosling's cool that worked so well in Drive has taken a step too far, and Only God Forgives actually fetishises its own star with lingering shots and intricately chosen framing. It's open voyeurism, like a weird stalker guy dressing his victim up in pretty dresses and taking pictures. Which would probably all be okay if Gosling gave any kind of performance to justify the attention, but he doesn't. He moons coolly through the film, throwing lines away without emotion (apart from a few times) and generally looking a tiny bit bored, like a hipster trying not to admit their having a good time at a party.