Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Jason F — 21 Mar 2016

It's official, Nicolas Winding Refn has my undivided attention. "Only God Forgives" has proven to me that "Drive" was not a lucky shot, for both Gosling and the director. In a year full of boring films (American Hustle), immature films (The Wolf of Wall Street), and insulting films (Iron Man 3), "Only God Forgives" has all of them beaten to a bloody pulp (in my opinion).

I will be the first to come to this films defense in a heartbeat. From its amazing soundtrack, to its beautiful lighting and cinematography, to the amount of symbolism and metaphors. Gosling's role as a quiet, blank canvas for the audience to interpret, is fascinating and compelling once again.

Kristin Scott Thomas does an amazing job as a controlling, full of herself mother, and Pansringarm plays the calm, collected, killer cop almost hauntingly well. It's a real shame this brought Refn's momentum to an almost dead stop, because I would love to see what else he can do.

The only reason I can think for this film getting destroyed critically is that a large majority probably went into this film expecting the sequel to "Drive", and when they didn't get it, it pissed them off.

Hopefully, this film ages like a fine wine and will become appreciated much better in the near future.