Monday, July 22, 2013

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Winding Refn likes painting portraits of hell. You could argue that his films are variations of hell on Earth. The barren, violent wasteland of Valhalla Rising, the internal collapse of Fear X, the unrelenting streets in the Pusher series, the seediness of L.A. in Drive. Hell. Through the use of bold, colorful cinematography, sparse dialogue, pulsating original score and lone, vengeful (anti)heroes, Refn creates worlds in which violence is life and revenge is certain.

In that regard, not only does Refn’s latest, Only God Forgives, fit snuggly into his familiar vision, but it is perhaps the most daring portrait of hell the director has ever put on screen. Relentless in its pace, tone and aggressive material, Only God Forgives is an aesthetically gorgeous look of inferno amidst fury.

At the film’s center is Julian Thompson (Ryan Gosling), an American living in Bangkok who launders an apparent massive drug operation through his boxing club. Early in the film, Julian’s brother, Billy, visits a whorehouse and rapes and butchers a 16-year-old girl. (For the record, only the aftermath of Billy’s misdeeds are shown.) The police are called, and a near-silent, consistently brooding Lieutenant, Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), lets the father of the killed girl do what he wants with Billy.
Upon learning the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death, Julian elects to do nothing. He thinks his brother deserved what happened to him, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. Hard for most people, save Julian and Billy’s mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) a terrifying Lady Macbeth of sorts, who flies into town and demands that Julian exact revenge.

Essentially, Only God Forgives boils down to a simple revenge film. An adult boy with mommy issues battles a ruthless police Lieutenant to achieve justice. But this is no straight story. There are things that are difficult to explain. Extended sequences of deliberately obscured imagery. For example (and do try to stay with me here), a few scenes after Chang chops off the arm of the man who killed Billy, Julian is seen watching a prostitute masturbating. While she masturbates, Julian envisions opening a door in a hallway, only to have Chang chop his arm off. Now, at this point, Julian hasn’t met Chang, and doesn’t know about the man who got his arm chopped off. In this stark encapsulation of hell, there are no cinematic rules. Refn’s bulks at convention and instead dares us to follow. It’s a teasing game that will entice some, and infuriate others.
Violence. Refn likes it. He likes exploring what it does to people – what we’re willing to take and what we’re willing to do. I have yet to see a Refn film that doesn’t contain moments of extreme violence, and Only God Forgives is certainly no exception. Most of the brutality in the film is achieved at the hands of Chang, a sadistic, ruthless man with a strict code of morals. He gains information through laboriously tortuous means, but he does it for a purpose. Whether or not you agree with that purpose is up to you.

More so than the physical violence in the film, I found the emotional devastation of Only God Forgives to be its most gruesome aspect. In this regard, Kristin Scott Thomas is the star. As Crystal, Thomas gets to play her most deliciously repulsive character to date. A woman who berates everyone in order to get her way; the vile she verbally spits to her son is as lacerating as Chang’s sword. This is very smart casting and very bold acting. She is, by long and far, the highlight of the film.
Which is saying a lot, as I feel there is plenty to appreciate. Cliff Martinez’s music is some of the best work he’s done yet, while Larry Smith’s cinematography does wonders with the harsh neon that splatters Bangkok. There wasn’t a single still frame of this film that didn’t look stunning. And, as he proved in Drive, Gosling fits superbly into Refn’s vision. He’s still; always thinking, rarely stepping outside of his complacent bounds. But like all men who remain still, at some point they must move, and when they do, look out.

The film has split audiences sharply. Some will argue it is an emotionally ice cold, pop cinema masterpiece, while others will decry it as torture porn void of purpose. As I watched Only God Forgives a few days ago, my mind occasionally shifted to both of those notions. I battled with myself about what I was watching. Was Only God Forgives something special – something new and bold and exquisite? Or was it an offensive, failed exercise? I can’t promise that I’m more certain of how I feel about the movie now than I did then. But what I knew from roughly the 10-minute mark of the movie remains today: Abandon all faith, ye who enter here. B

32 comments:

  1. Excellent as usual. I'm definitely going to see this film on Saturday though I know the reaction is very divisive. Still, I'm eager to see what NWR does.

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    1. Thanks man. I think you'll like it. We both really enjoy his warped view of the world, I think. It isn't his best, but it's damn fine.

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  2. I loved this film. It's the perfect antithesis to the pop-mainstream-ness of Drive while retaining the majority of elements from that film. It's everything I wanted it to be and more (though it is not a masterpiece) it's the perfect blend of what I thought Fear X demonstrated so perfectly (a truly underrated gem of a flick in my opinion) and the aforementioned sensibilities of Drive. In addition to that, it just rips along at just under 90 minutes and felt so much shorter than that. It's hypnotic, abstract, dark, twisted, violent, and stylish - everything I want in a film. As one of my friends rightly put it, "It's like Drive was remixed by Lynch and Miike." I couldn't agree more! Can't wait to see what Refn does next!

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    1. I usually write about a film the day I see it, but this one was different. The more it sits, the more I like it. So glad you dug it so much - Drive remixed with Lynch and Miike is a GREAT way to put it. I love that.

      I absolutely cannot wait to see what NWF does next.

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  3. yeah, Thomas is definitely the film's only highlight (though i liked the cinematography more). But the film is overall aggressively hollow. I just couldn't like it.

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    1. I completely understand where you're coming from. Tough movie to fully appreciate. Glad you liked Thomas and the cinematography though. Both were remarkable.

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  4. Nice review buddy, I've actually watched it twice now, once in a packed 500+ people theatre, the other time by myself in a small cinema, definitely had different impacts but I still couldn't love it.

    Really appreciated it though in parts, gave it a B-.

    Agree with you that after the first watch I wasn't too sure which way I leant!

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    1. Thanks man. I'd be interested to see this with a crowd. I rented it OnDemand through my cable provider, so I watched it in my friend's living room. But man, we were definitely vocal haha.

      Not a masterpiece, but certainly not garbage.

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  5. Wonderful review man. I felt almost the same way. Is it a great film? No, but I still found a lot to love. I can't wait to revisit it, as I could see it growing on me by the end of the year. For now, I'd give it a solid A-.

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    1. Thanks dude. Once again, we're in total agreement. I bet come Dec. 31, this moves its way up to an A- for me. It hasn't even hinted at leaving my head.

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  6. I kind of feel the same way. I think my biggest mistake was to expect something like Drive, since I haven't seen anything else of Refn's.
    At points it just felt too heavy. I loved Thomas and Pansringarm. Gos was good, but apart from looking hot as hell, it really wasn't his movie. I think if I were to see it as Chang's tale, it is much more rewarding, but it's still not all I wanted it to be. I'm underwhelmed.

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    1. I can't blame the marketing for the movie - of course they're going to promote the hell out of Gos being in it. But I agree, it wasn't really his movie. Thomas and Pansringarm both stole the show, in my opinion. Definitely wasn't what I expected it to be, but I'm glad it didn't play like Drive 2: Drive Harder.

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  7. The only Refn films I had seen before this were Drive and Bronson - I was not ready for OGF! But wow, I loved it. I was sliding low in my seat, trying to escape the horrors on screen, it put me so on edge.
    The relationship between Crystal and Julian was one of the most disturbing aspects of the film - the way Crystal speaks to/about her sons was creeeeepy.

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    1. So cool that you loved it! I've seen all of Refn's films, and I STILL wasn't prepared for this. If the Academy had any balls, Thomas would nab an Oscar nomination. It'll never happen, but wow... whatta presence.

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  8. Superb review Alex. We get this in a couple of weeks I think and I'm really looking forward to it, despite some of the heavy criticism it's getting. I loved Drive and Bronson, so looking forward to seeing what Refn serves up here.

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    1. Thanks man. I'll be really curious to hear what you think of it. You can tell it's from the same guy who made Drive and Bronson, but it is very different from those films. Can't wait for your review.

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  9. I wish I would've liked this film as much as you did. I was so disappointed.

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    1. I watched this movie with my best friend, whose favorite film in 2011 was Drive. He loved Drive, and he loves Refn. When this movie was done, he looked at me and called it garbage. So hey, to each our own, you know?

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    2. Same! Only God Forgives isn’t unbearably dull it’s laughably absurd, going from one extreme to the other within the same scene but never even teasing at hitting some place in the middle where it could have been a somewhat decent film.

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    3. Ha. Well, like I said, a pop cinema masterpiece or torture porn void of purpose.

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  10. I anticipated all the uncomfortable backlash and bad tastes the film seems to have brought on, and am glad to see people questioning it as thoroughly as they are even though I fall on the same page as you. The aesthetic triumphs and nightmarish approach to the violence, anger, and turmoil win out over the thin content. It's an oppressive film, I think, but a good one.

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    1. A great comment here. I'm certainly glad that not everything loved this as well. If EVERYONE loved it, what would that say of all of us? Ha. This is a film bound to sharply split audiences. Fair enough.

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  11. Is this similar in pacing and tone to Valhalla Rising? Because if so, I may give it a shot. I quite liked Rising, more than I thought I would.

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    1. I think tone and pace wise, Rising is the most similar Refn film to Only God Forgives. The seemingly random visions, the sparse dialogue, foreboding mood... all applies to both films. Some may disagree with me there, but I think if you like Rising, you will certainly appreciate aspects of OGF.

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  12. excellent review. One of the first I've seen that didn't bash Refn and the film in every sentence. I was awestruck by this movie and really want to see it again (ASAP) before I make my final opinion, and my own review, but I walked out craving more and that can only be a good thing I'm sure.

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    1. Thanks man. I still desperately want to see it again as well. I watched it a week ago and I've been thinking about it ever since. Not perfect, but it definitely stays with you.

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  13. Good review. I wish I would've liked it as much as you, I really tried, but I can't love this one. After two viewings, I'm kind of in the middle of the road on this. It's hovering around 5/10 for me. My expectations were sky high.

    First off, I loved Drive and think Gosling is one of the best actors of the current generation, if not the best. I was expecting something with lots of style, little dialogue and random acts of violence and that's pretty much what Refn is known to deliver and he did.

    The movie felt very strange to me, it felt like Gosling's character Julian was at a center of a video game, being the avatar, and random things were happening around him. He was by no means the star, it was the KST show with a nice effort from Vithaya Pansringarm.

    The movie had some good parts, it's not all a loss but I was expecting much, much more from Refn and Gosling.



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    1. Thanks man. I definitely wanted to like this one more, and I agree that Gosling was not the star. A B was as generous as I could possibly be, but I highly doubt I'll ever have a reason to watch this again. Definitely not a Drive.

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  14. " the seediness of L.A. in Drive. Hell. " and is in your Top 10 Movies that Make L.A. Look Like Heaven.

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    1. Right, because of the tranquil L.A. River scene...

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  15. First time I saw Drive I thought it was really boring. I saw Only God Forgives and, although I can call it a good film, I totally and absolutely love it. I'll make a review asap.

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    1. Can't wait to read it. This movie is insane. But I actually quite liked it.

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