Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Beren O — 13 Apr 2014
This film held my attention from beginning to end - a fascinating morality tale. I read online that Refn described this film as an "acid trip," and as a western set in Thailand. I like those descriptions.
Chang's sword amused me. Was that a sawed-off samurai sword he wielded? What kind of scabbard did he use? Physical violence in "Only God Forgives" seemed less pandering to me than physical violence in any Tarantino film.
What disgusted me was Crystal's psychological violence against Julian and Julian's tragic inability to fight her off. Among Refn's films, I rank "Only God Forgives" above "Valhalla Rising" (1.
5 stars) and below "Drive" (4 stars).
This review of Only God Forgives (2013) was written by Beren O on 13 Apr 2014.
Only God Forgives has generally received mixed reviews.
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