Only God Forgives

I was expecting something more shocking. Don't get me wrong. This is violent and misogyny at it worst. But we've seen it all before. Especially the worldly movie reviewers that are so eager to give it a zero. If anything, it's the minimalist acting that's unique here. And not just the limited dialog but it's the movement. They don't even move that much.

The minimalist acting, the over saturation of color red, the grotesque violence, the misogyny, all of it adds to a unique feel unlike anything I've seen before. Even with all its oddness, it was compelling and mesmerizing. This is like nothing I've ever seen before and that's worth something to me.

This film is worth watching, it is very gripping and suspenseful. There isn't much dialouge at all, it is mostly just atmospheric. The plot is relatively simple, a chain of people killing others who are then linked to someone else. The ending is left open to your imagination too. There are some really gruesome scenes in this movie but this sort of thing was needed to keep the viewer gripped on the way the story was unfolding. Ryan Gosling was a very mysterious character again (as in Drive) and he portrayed this very well. The supporting cast were also good.

Overall I found this film to be quite good, was a relatively short film but I didn't feel it was 'dragging' like some said. I preferred 'Drive' but this one is still worth a watch.

7/10

"Only God Forgives" is a dark, serious and ultra-violent movie. It weighs in on Asian symbolism, spiritualism and response to revenge or own hand rights. It flows more like a music video than actual movie (even though it does not have fast cuts). That description also fits "Drive" but whereas that movie gained critical acclaim, this one has had way more split response and it's easy to see why.

Considering that even with star Ryan Gosling, "Only God Forgives" is to be considered a sub-genre movie and indie release, I can predict many people go to see it because of the previous (director & lead star) collaboration "Drive". I, like many others marching into movie theater to see it, had high hopes after Drive. I jokingly said that this is "Drive II". Well, it's not.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn has leaned towards heavy symbolism here, and unfortunately at the cost of plot where one considers how movies should have even a some kind of structure and character development. I had the impression after the movie that tackling the symbolism the writer/director probably thought he had invested more to his characters than he actually has. Gosling is the less spoken man like in the predecessor Drive, but without any likability. The "heroism" of the Drive main character could have been argued on but in this case there are no heroes or good guys in the movie. Just a self made perception of each religious or other view.

Some reviews said that the movie is style of substance but again (sorry) I need to reference to Drive and question even the style. It had couple of really nice shots and scenes with unique atmoshpere but I found it lacked the coolness. Also the stylisticity (is it a word?) of some the gore scenes only show of a bad taste. In my opinion you're either full on splatter or you're on the other end of the scale, not something in between.

This type of story would have been more powerful with some kind of invested emotion. I did not feel about anything when watching this movie. That is what separates if from it's predecessor and also other great movies. Now it's barely good.

I am afraid Nicolas Winding Refn have taken a step back here, although I am also pretty sure he does not entertain a thought of mainstream acclaim -that much we've seen from the previous movies. I hope he takes a sidestep for his next movie, and tries something different because he really is talented and an INDIVIDUAL director.

Other reviewers have done a better job than I could. In all truth - i think I really have to see the film again. It's a movie that will offer up levels, after review( I think...maybe) At times I was thinking: Tarkovsky.

Critics have gone way too hard on this movie. Lots of violent, strange et slow films have been presented at the Cannes film festival since its creation but yet every time a film pushes the boundaries of violence while keeping its own style, most critics go mad and sometimes shout at the screening, even leaving the theater before the end and calling it "outrageous". This film, along with "Anti-Christ" is a perfect example of the type of scandals that go on at Cannes for quite stupid reasons.

First of all, forget about Drive. If you know Nicolas Winding Refn's style and like it then you'll enjoy this movie but if you've only seen Drive and believe this is going to be in the same style (because of the same actor, similar cinematography, same musical style...) believe me you'll be disappointed. The trailer might give this impression, but this film is very different. The director had already made other movies just like this, but they did not encounter a really large audience. His works were mostly known by cinephiles, artsy people and intellectuals interested in film analysis (in a general way of course). Drive was his first really big success and also his first film taking place in America, starring a worldwide known star (Gosling) and going deep into its message while keeping a more specific style than his other films.

Here Refn feels a lot more philosophical, and comes back to his original style in directing films such as Valhalla Rising : great visuals, slow-pasted action, scenes that seem a bit detached from one-another, deep character development, little dialogue, extreme violence mixed with soft and/or trance-electro music... all of which are here to deal with philosophical, deep, hard subjects like revenge, good and bad, mother/son relationship etc...

When it comes to the acting Gosling does not disappoints however this time Refn wanted to do the opposite that he did in Drive : showing the weakness of his character. Also, even though he does pull-off a very convincing performance, Kristin Scott Thomas is surprisingly captivating and gives her character a much more "real" dimension than it could have been (like it is most of the time, when a woman is supposed to play a drug-lord badass). But saving the best for the end, Vithaya Pansringarm, an actor totally unknown to me until know, plays wonderfully his role as the mystical bad guy, and really did surprise me by the quality of his acting. He completely understood the movie's atmosphere and makes his character feel mysterious and fascinating.

To sum-up this is a very atmospheric, deep movie with great actors/actresses and dealing with difficult and serious themes, with some philosophical analysis possible, but definitely not in the same style as Drive, even though it has some similarities with it.