Review of Lost River (2015) by Tyler B — 24 Aug 2015

Heartthrob/meme generator Ryan Gosling makes his first debut into the world of directing with Lost River. Starring Christina Hendricks, Iain De Caestecker, Saoirse Ronan, Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes and Matt Smith, Lost River tells a story of a poverty-stricken family trying to scrounge up enough dough to keep mortgage on the family home alive in an increasingly destructive city.

A mirror to modern day Detroit (where the film was actually shot), the once prosperous city of Lost River has turned into a surreal wasteland due to economic collapse. Desperate to keep her family from leaving, Billy (Christina Hendricks) takes a job offer from the mysterious Dave (Ben Mendelsohn), while her son Bones (Iain De Caestecker) hunts for copper and other abandoned items of value in the desolated neighborhood. Meanwhile, Bully (Matt Smith), the self-proclaimed "King of Lost River" becomes rattled at the thought of Bones taking what now belongs to him, and the two forces start a violent fight for control of the area.

Stylistically, Lost River takes its influences from a variety of sources. It's obvious that Gosling has seen his share of David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Nicholas Winding Refn and Harmony Korine, and he is trying hard to emulate them all at once here. Mostly it works on the surface, but beneath the slow-moving (and beautifully shot) images of a decaying suburb lies a film that somehow feels thematically hollow. Lost River is a hodgepodge of ideas and emotions, none of which get fully developed, making the film a classic exercise in style over substance. However, Gosling seems to know what he is doing, and technically the film is a marvel considering it's his first array into the directors chair.

While most viewers will find Lost River either too pretentious or too diluted, I thought there was just enough visually brooding sophistication to keep me happy. That and Ben Mendelsohn's dancing.