Review of Only God Forgives (2013) by Dolby W — 15 Dec 2013

Like his previous film "Drive" Nicolas Winding Refn's "Only God Forgives" is a real treat for cinephiles, but unlike "Drive" I think this film will be a real endurance test for casual viewers.

Ryan Gosling is a fight promoter in Thailand, which is just a front for his family's drug dealing, but when his scumbag brother is killed after the rape and murder of an underage prostitute, his domineering mother, an unrecognizable Kristin Scott Thomas looking like someone from The Real Housewife of _______, shows up to bully Gosling into getting revenge.

The story, like the title suggests, is something out of a spaghetti western, as does the film's focus on visuals, music and sound to tell the story, rather than dialogue. The story is unique in that it's not so much a story of revenge and is more of an anti-revenge story, with Gosling not wanting to seek revenge for his brother's death, which he feels was justified, but is pushed into a revenge scenario by the people and circumstances around him.

Director Refn is definitely a "cinema guy" like the Coen Brothers, Mario Bava, or Alejandro Jodorowsky (the surrealist filmmaker who this film is dedicated). Filmmakers like these all make movies and tell stores that could only be told in the medium of film.

This movie is a film experience with unbelievably gorgeous photography by Larry Smith, a terrific score by Cliff Martinez and some of the best sound design I can remember of late. Refn is now one of my favorite filmmakers, but his films are definitely not for casual viewers or the mainstream audience.

This film's slow pace, lack of action, grizzly bursts of violence make it one that will annoy the mainstream and be off putting to the art house crowd. Overall, the film is something of a mess, but it's a rather glorious mess.

I can't wait to see what Refn does next!