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Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
When you make a movie like Drive that most people respond so positively too your next movie will be judged against it whether its fair or not. When that film is as stylized as Drive the comparisons will be even more intense. That has certainly been the case with Only God Forgives. I don't think this film lives up to the lofty standards set by Drive. I do think the comparisons are fair however because I feel Refn is trying to hit many of the same beats with Only God Forgives.
The story centers around Julian (Gosling) whose brother has been brutally murdered. Julian's mother (Thomas) comes to Bangkok to make sure that Julian seeks out revenge on those responsible. Julian seems reluctant but mostly does as his mother asks. Theirs is the most interesting relationship in the film. If this relationship had been explored with any effectiveness at all I think I would have had a much more positive response to this film. Instead we are left with hollow characters and little reason to care what their ultimate outcome will be. Every character in this film except for Thomas is given absolutely nothing to do. We see way too many shots of Gosling and Pansringarm just staring into the camera for extended takes. Due to the fact that we don't care about these characters these takes have no emotional effect. In my opinion that is the major difference between this film and Drive. In Drive we cared about the characters so the brooding was mysterious, in Only God Forgives we don't so the brooding is cheesy and badly executed.
What Refn does just as well as he did in Drive, if not better, is in the visuals. I have not seen a more atmospheric film thus far in 2013. This movie looks amazing. What I like the most about Refn's visuals is how he uses the frames to build tension and keep us guessing. Many characters in danger are framed in a way that we literally don't know what is around the corner. Simple, effective, and beautiful. I love this directors style and that makes me wish that this was a better film.
See Only God Forgives for the visuals not for the story arc or characters. If you happen to be a fan of lifeless karaoke or insane mothers that can put a psycho-sexual hold on you, you may love this film more than me.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
When you make a movie like Drive that most people respond so positively too your next movie will be judged against it whether its fair or not. When that film is as stylized as Drive the comparisons will be even more intense. That has certainly been the case with Only God Forgives. I don't think this film lives up to the lofty standards set by Drive. I do think the comparisons are fair however because I feel Refn is trying to hit many of the same beats with Only God Forgives.
The story centers around Julian (Gosling) whose brother has been brutally murdered. Julian's mother (Thomas) comes to Bangkok to make sure that Julian seeks out revenge on those responsible. Julian seems reluctant but mostly does as his mother asks. Theirs is the most interesting relationship in the film. If this relationship had been explored with any effectiveness at all I think I would have had a much more positive response to this film. Instead we are left with hollow characters and little reason to care what their ultimate outcome will be. Every character in this film except for Thomas is given absolutely nothing to do. We see way too many shots of Gosling and Pansringarm just staring into the camera for extended takes. Due to the fact that we don't care about these characters these takes have no emotional effect. In my opinion that is the major difference between this film and Drive. In Drive we cared about the characters so the brooding was mysterious, in Only God Forgives we don't so the brooding is cheesy and badly executed.
What Refn does just as well as he did in Drive, if not better, is in the visuals. I have not seen a more atmospheric film thus far in 2013. This movie looks amazing. What I like the most about Refn's visuals is how he uses the frames to build tension and keep us guessing. Many characters in danger are framed in a way that we literally don't know what is around the corner. Simple, effective, and beautiful. I love this directors style and that makes me wish that this was a better film.
See Only God Forgives for the visuals not for the story arc or characters. If you happen to be a fan of lifeless karaoke or insane mothers that can put a psycho-sexual hold on you, you may love this film more than me.