Only God Forgives - Review

After his brother dies, Julian (Gosling) a drug dealer, is confronted by his mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), and pushed to seek revenge on his brother's murderer. Choosing not to go ahead with the revenge initially, we see a divide in the family, with Crystal confident that she can find someone else to do the job. However, when countless murders happen and Crystal realises she is alone without protection, she chooses to beg one last time for her son's protection and an end to the trouble.

There was, and still is, a lot of controversy around the latest feature from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, with reports that the film was booed at Cannes along with many other negative comments made, it seemed like fans of Refn were expecting a sequel to Drive, his last collaboration with Ryan Gosling, who stars in Only God Forgives, and what viewers got was anything but that.

The film is influenced by avant garde cinema, but too much so to be considered a masterpiece by violence and action fans, yet is also too violent and linear to be considered avant garde, leaving the film in a limbo between genres, and the limbo where it resides is where I feel people's discomfort and dislike of the film comes from. Rather than take the film for what it is, which, in my opinion, is a piece of work that transcends genre boundaries all together, people want a defined piece of work, they want to be told what they are watching and what other films it is similar to, they want comparisons, one word descriptions and a star-rated system, the fact that Refn gives his audience ambiguity in all corners of the film shows the respect he holds for the intelligence of the viewers. The film is set in the East and the majority of viewers are from the West, the underground world of Bangkok in which we are viewing is meant to seem alien to us, this unfamiliarity of culture is mirrored in the unfamiliarity of the film's style, the differences from films set in Westernised countries is meant to detach us from the location, making it seem that bit more dangerous and unknown. It is with this that the film has been misunderstood, people had expectations for the film as opposed to an open mind and their ability to pass judgement on the film as a stand alone piece is tainted by the hauntings of Drive, two years after it was released.

Every single shot of the film looks like it could be framed and put in an art museum, the amount of beauty in each frame is breathtaking, the line "Time to meet the Devil" is spoken at the beginning of the film, making us aware of the nightmare journey we are about to embark on, but slow motion effects are used, making the film seem a lot softer than most dark films, it is a nightmare shot in the style of a dream.

The film's pacing is a little slow, shots are held for long periods of time in order to build tension, with the action and violence not taking up too much screen time, but being memorable when it does for the sheer brutality of it. Along with the pacing not being at super-speed like most thrillers, dialogue is not heavy at all, either, with Refn taking the approach of quality, not quantity. Gosling's character speaks a mere 22 lines throughout the whole 90 minute film. As said previously, the film does not spoon feed information, it requires a close eye and presents the majority of information visually, which is a real pleasure to watch in a time when I feel most director's take for granted the actual ability that a camera has.

Nicolas Winding Refn has definitely proved himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie cinema, with his next feature set for release in 2015, we can only wait and see the direction that the director will take. With Only God Forgives, he has presented himself as one of the top young directors of our generation, making the films that other director's are too afraid to risk making and pushing the limits of cinema as an art form.

Drive Review

In anticipation of Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives which hits screens in the UK on the 2nd of August, I thought a re-watch of Refn & Ryan Gosling's first collaboration, Drive, was due in order to get excited for their latest feature.

Set in the city of Angels, Los Angeles, Drive sees Ryan Gosling's character, a getaway driver, stuntman and mechanic, fall for his neighbour, Irene, who is a mother taking care of her child alone while her husband is in prison. After Irene's husband gets out of jail, he owes protection money to some people and his family are threatened in order to make him pay up. Seeing that Standard, Irene's husband, is not willing to hold up a store alone, Gosling's character offers to help in a gesture of love towards Irene and her son, Benicio. When things don't go quite as planned at the pawn shop hold-up, the Driver's world is turned upside down when he is the only one who escapes with his life, with some of Hollywood's biggest gangsters looking for him and the million dollars he is now holding.

From the opening scene alone the audience is immediately introduced into Refn's dark portrayal of Los Angeles, with all the glitz and glamour of the city pushed aside, we begin in the Driver's car, with the clock ticking and the police radio blaring whilst we wait for the criminals to commit their crime and get back in the car. After a tense couple of minutes, we are speeding through the streets of LA, stopping and starting after being pursued by police cars and helicopters. The introduction of Gosling's character is perfected in this opening scene, we see his confidence in giving the rules of his service, his calmness in times of danger and most of all his ability to drive. These characteristics are vital in understanding the Driver's actions throughout the rest of the film and they are all introduced so effortlessly before we reach the ten minute mark of the film.

With the brutal violence and bloodshed throughout the film, Refn shows that he is not afraid to shock and get a reaction from his audience, which is entirely what he does. These contrasts in scenes give us time to evaluate the decisions in which the Driver is making, and what would just be mindless violence when seen standing alone is seen as an act of passion, love and beauty. It would be lying to say that the violence is not dramatised and perhaps isn't for viewers with a weak disposition, however most other emotions in the film are too emphasised, giving the audience the feeling that they know these characters and feel the emotions that they are feeling. Through the lack of sugar-coating of violence in the film, we feel that we are respected as viewers and the images that we see are raw and gritty, adding to the intimacy we feel we have with the characters.

There is a heavy connection between the audience and the character of the Driver, and even though the film is not heavy on dialogue, feelings and emotions are conveyed through the camera techniques, music and by the beautiful performance given by Ryan Gosling. This performance is matched by that of Carey Mulligan who plays a torn mother trying to choose between what she knows is right for her child and her true feelings for the Driver. The characterisation is thorough and where the might be more dialogue in other films, Refn chooses to trust in the actor's abilities to communicate through their eyes, which is what most of the interactions between the Driver and Irene seem to be dependent on.

With exceptionally dark themes, Refn shows that portrayals of the underworld and the alternative takes on cities need not always be lengthy and hard to digest. Fitting this brilliant thought provoking adaptation of James Sallis' novel into 90 minutes of exceptional cinema. It is films like this that give me confidence in the future of upcoming film makers, with only 7 films under his belt before making Drive, Refn shows that there are still directors out there that make films for the pure enjoyment of the art, and ones that are bloody well good at it, also.