Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Demetrios M — 16 Apr 2014

"Two wrongs do not make a right" so says the old proverb and by viewing Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives, it appears that ethical way of thinking should be changed to "many wrongs do not make the slightest right.

" Filmed in a very similar style (oh, and what style it is!) to his previous endeavors (2009's Valhalla Rising and 2011's Drive-one of the best films that year), where a majority of the storytelling is told through beautiful cinematography, punctuated musical cues and introverted acting in place of expositional dialogue (or traditional dialogue for that matter), Only God Forgives is one step closer for the Danish director to refine his divisive means of visual storytelling.

The centerpiece of the film revolves around an American family in troubling circumstances while in Bangkok (comprised of two sons and a mother), but Refn made the curious decision to make them (mostly) despicable human beings (even flirting with the idea of incestuous relations amongst them).

The characterization only gets worse as it becomes apparent early on that we will be viewing an exercise of violence about violent people (creating a detachment from who we are supposed to like on screen).

As Refn was clearly inspired by Werner Herzog with Valhalla Rising and Michael Mann with Drive, it is now the surrealism of David Lynch that screams (backwards) off the screen. Dream-like sequences of Julian (Ryan Gosling doing his staring-contest best) are littered throughout to little effect and no clear direction.

This loose pacing makes Only God Forgives a beautiful film on the surface but doesn't have the punch to truly engage the viewer in the neon-lit world that Refn threw together on screen.