A film by Nicholas Winding Refn
Starring Ryan Gosling as Moody, Broody Soulful Antihero
Kristin Scott Thomas as Moody Antihero's Ice Cold but Milfy Ma
Vitaya Pansingram as The Thai Terminator
And introducing: Lots of Thai ladies in 1950s Suzie Homemaker dresses, as the supporting cast.
Thailand. The present day.
Ryan Gosling is moody, broody, laconic soulful drug dealer and Muay Thai kick boxing gym owner, Julian. His life consists of dealing drugs, not saying much and staring at nothing in visually stunning surroundings, to an 80s tinged quasi retro synthesizer score, when he's not having digitally probing hand sex with a Thai hooker called Mai. One day Julian's rather addled brother is killed for doing something really really (REALLY) bad. When Julian hears the news he stares and then stares some more, in even more visually pleasing cinematography, as being a drug dealer is hard and requires much intense soulful reflection.
Things aren't helped when Julian's ice cold and rather milfy Ma appears on the scene. Julian's Ma is exactly like Vera Farmiga in Bates Motel, only far more vicious and abrasive and she has no time at all for Julian's brooding. She viciously belittles him at dinner, in front of his hooker bird Mai and then bizarrely, starts talking about her dead son's wang in a disturbingly graphic manner, even using a word which rhymes with mock. Bottom line- she wants revenge and when an ice cold milf is looking for revenge and she's yer Ma no less, well...
...Julian broods. And stares, while that awesome soundtrack plays. And... not much happens for quite some time...
However, it turns out that Julian's (thoroughly despicable) brother was killed only with the permission of a certain cop. This cop is The Thai Terminator and he's indescribably bad ass. He's so bad ass that his day typically consists of walking in slow mo while waving a short but very lethal looking sword about, in a highly stylized choreographed manner, while another 80s retro synthesizer score throbs in the background. It's almost like the Thai Terminator is really God ,(albeit a relentlessly homicidal and incredibly badass Old Testament blood and vengeance kinda God as opposed to his metro son who appeared in the sequel, the New Testament), Julian's Mam is the Devil and they are battling over his redemption seeking and admittedly soulful soul... (It's also almost like Gosling's actual character, Julian is really the driver from Drive, who has hightailed it to Thailand, to get into a showdown with a Thai and far more bad ass version of Albert Brooks).
The Thai Terminator is SO bad ass, that he thinks nothing of singing Karaoke- for AGES- after horribly and jaw-droppingly graphically, torture-murdering a thinks- he's -hard- but- really- isn't- compared- to -the- Thai-Terminator, not so hard ass Assie drug lord. (read that last sentence back again, slowly. It'll make more sense once you break it down:))
Yes, the violence in Only God Forgives out-drives Drive in the sheer left field icky gooey in yer face violence stakes, but it's all so visually sumptuous, it becomes beautiful. In fact, EVERY damn scene in this film is beautiful. I actually wept and had a spontaneous and simultaneous climax when watching it, and the climax was purely due to Only God Forgives' sheer aesthetic beauty, and that's never happened to me when watching a non pornographic film before, but considering I've just given way TMI there, I'll simply move on gracefully and say see this film.
It's so pretentious and self indulgent it makes both Antichrist and The Idiots combined seem really really non-pretentious but it's just so soul achingly beautiful, you really won't care. Its pretentiousness and self indulgence actually make it even more awesome. And by all rights I should hate this film, as I'm an admitted philistine in regards to art-house cinema and will be the first to confess that I normally have no time for this kinda arty farty claptrap, but man... this film rocked and had David Lynch had have directed it, it would have been cheered instead of booed at Cannes. I intend to revisit it again soon and hopefully weep (and um... y'know, ahem) again at its sheer ethereal beauty.
A solid 7.5/10 rounded to 8 for IMDb, pretentious as hell (and I know a lot of people hate the use of the word "pretentious", and certainly not without justification either, but trust me folks, it really does apply here:)), but awesomely beautiful. And it also has Ryan Gosling having a bad ass fight while wearing a suit that undoubtedly cost more, than the non existent down payment I never put down on the apt I don't own... which is reason enough to see it.
And anyone who Liked (as I did) Valhalla Riding should REALLY dig this one, as it has the same dreamy & surreal style/tone. Only even more badass.
And joking aside folks, Vitaya Pansingram is actually excellent in the film and exudes a sheer commanding menacing presence, while not actually saying much, which is rather difficult to pull off successfully, but Pansingram not only manages to pull it off, he pretty much elevates the film in any scene he's in. To stand out in such a beautifully shot surreal film via your sheer presence is quite a feat and my hat's off to him.
Starring Ryan Gosling as Moody, Broody Soulful Antihero
Kristin Scott Thomas as Moody Antihero's Ice Cold but Milfy Ma
Vitaya Pansingram as The Thai Terminator
And introducing: Lots of Thai ladies in 1950s Suzie Homemaker dresses, as the supporting cast.
Thailand. The present day.
Ryan Gosling is moody, broody, laconic soulful drug dealer and Muay Thai kick boxing gym owner, Julian. His life consists of dealing drugs, not saying much and staring at nothing in visually stunning surroundings, to an 80s tinged quasi retro synthesizer score, when he's not having digitally probing hand sex with a Thai hooker called Mai. One day Julian's rather addled brother is killed for doing something really really (REALLY) bad. When Julian hears the news he stares and then stares some more, in even more visually pleasing cinematography, as being a drug dealer is hard and requires much intense soulful reflection.
Things aren't helped when Julian's ice cold and rather milfy Ma appears on the scene. Julian's Ma is exactly like Vera Farmiga in Bates Motel, only far more vicious and abrasive and she has no time at all for Julian's brooding. She viciously belittles him at dinner, in front of his hooker bird Mai and then bizarrely, starts talking about her dead son's wang in a disturbingly graphic manner, even using a word which rhymes with mock. Bottom line- she wants revenge and when an ice cold milf is looking for revenge and she's yer Ma no less, well...
...Julian broods. And stares, while that awesome soundtrack plays. And... not much happens for quite some time...
However, it turns out that Julian's (thoroughly despicable) brother was killed only with the permission of a certain cop. This cop is The Thai Terminator and he's indescribably bad ass. He's so bad ass that his day typically consists of walking in slow mo while waving a short but very lethal looking sword about, in a highly stylized choreographed manner, while another 80s retro synthesizer score throbs in the background. It's almost like the Thai Terminator is really God ,(albeit a relentlessly homicidal and incredibly badass Old Testament blood and vengeance kinda God as opposed to his metro son who appeared in the sequel, the New Testament), Julian's Mam is the Devil and they are battling over his redemption seeking and admittedly soulful soul... (It's also almost like Gosling's actual character, Julian is really the driver from Drive, who has hightailed it to Thailand, to get into a showdown with a Thai and far more bad ass version of Albert Brooks).
The Thai Terminator is SO bad ass, that he thinks nothing of singing Karaoke- for AGES- after horribly and jaw-droppingly graphically, torture-murdering a thinks- he's -hard- but- really- isn't- compared- to -the- Thai-Terminator, not so hard ass Assie drug lord. (read that last sentence back again, slowly. It'll make more sense once you break it down:))
Yes, the violence in Only God Forgives out-drives Drive in the sheer left field icky gooey in yer face violence stakes, but it's all so visually sumptuous, it becomes beautiful. In fact, EVERY damn scene in this film is beautiful. I actually wept and had a spontaneous and simultaneous climax when watching it, and the climax was purely due to Only God Forgives' sheer aesthetic beauty, and that's never happened to me when watching a non pornographic film before, but considering I've just given way TMI there, I'll simply move on gracefully and say see this film.
It's so pretentious and self indulgent it makes both Antichrist and The Idiots combined seem really really non-pretentious but it's just so soul achingly beautiful, you really won't care. Its pretentiousness and self indulgence actually make it even more awesome. And by all rights I should hate this film, as I'm an admitted philistine in regards to art-house cinema and will be the first to confess that I normally have no time for this kinda arty farty claptrap, but man... this film rocked and had David Lynch had have directed it, it would have been cheered instead of booed at Cannes. I intend to revisit it again soon and hopefully weep (and um... y'know, ahem) again at its sheer ethereal beauty.
A solid 7.5/10 rounded to 8 for IMDb, pretentious as hell (and I know a lot of people hate the use of the word "pretentious", and certainly not without justification either, but trust me folks, it really does apply here:)), but awesomely beautiful. And it also has Ryan Gosling having a bad ass fight while wearing a suit that undoubtedly cost more, than the non existent down payment I never put down on the apt I don't own... which is reason enough to see it.
And anyone who Liked (as I did) Valhalla Riding should REALLY dig this one, as it has the same dreamy & surreal style/tone. Only even more badass.
And joking aside folks, Vitaya Pansingram is actually excellent in the film and exudes a sheer commanding menacing presence, while not actually saying much, which is rather difficult to pull off successfully, but Pansingram not only manages to pull it off, he pretty much elevates the film in any scene he's in. To stand out in such a beautifully shot surreal film via your sheer presence is quite a feat and my hat's off to him.