Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Oliver W — 05 Oct 2018

Nicolas Winding Refn follows up Drive with a visually arresting, steady, brutal, and intense Lynchian revenge thriller, but none of the characters are likable, and the violence goes too far in one scene to the point of being unnecessarily gruesome and self-indulgent on the director's part.

Albeit, I can see Refn is highly influenced by Lynch and Kubrick as well as overblown violence, but it seems that Refn is more interested in a self-absorbed, aesthetic arthouse fashion here than he is in some of his other films.

The film may get better or worse on repeat viewings, but I don't see myself watching this anytime soon. So for now, it's a visually dazzling work of art high in violence, sexuality, and surrealism, but its impact leaves more to be desired from a narrative perspective.