Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Jon P — 24 Jan 2014

Plotless, pretentious and painfully paced, Nicholas Winding Refn's stagnant drama might just be the biggest disappointment of 2013, especially for anyone spotting Gosling's name and expecting the collaborative precision of previous hit, Drive.

Only God Forgives is a purely visual film. Winding Refn gives us a gorgeous jumble of interesting images and ideas, but all are so vague, ambiguous and disconnected, it feels as if he doesn't really know what he wants to say or why.

The characters are so underwritten, they feel solely compositional, the film's pace is so lacking that almost every scene feels like a lengthy experiment in silent slow motion, and the only real glimmer of redemption comes in the form of some slick sound design and a couple of crisp fight sequences. Style over substance gone mad.