Hey Gang
I know it's been awhile since I posted, and that has mainly been attributed to two things:
- I haven't been to the cinemas much recently
- The last two films I saw ("This Is the End" and "Byzantium") I enjoyed but they weren't real big standouts for me.
However, last night I ventured to the amazing Music Box theater in Lakeview to watch Nicolas Winding Refn's newest film "Only God Forgives". I'm glad it was in their main auditorium, and their second viewing screen is about the size of my bed (a roomy queen for those wondering).
Let me go on record, and it probably sounds like a broken one, that "Drive" was easily my favorite movie of 2011 and breaks into my Top 10 without a hitch. The soundtrack, old-school heist/noir plot, and acting across the board blew me away. While the story and beats weren't anything brand new, the way they were presented and mesh together make a memorable and unique movie-going experience.
I also saw "Bronson" and "Valhalla Rising", and liked both, but didn't have a huge opinion on either. I enjoyed what I saw, and they helped bolster my opinion of Refn's chops.
But then I saw "Only God Forgives"....and now I am confused.
I have to give credit to his direction, as the film was beautifully shot (a loooooooootttt of red, which set the ominous mood well but was a little repetitive), and what few action scenes that were present were excellent. It seems that Refn has an eye for these scens, and most of his his long, slow shots really put you in the moment and let you drink in the scenery.
Unfortunately, sometimes they go on a little to long. There is probably 30 minutes of footage that has action, movement, or development in it. The rest is just scenery porn, which is unique considering the glow of Bangcock but gets a little long in the tooth after you see the same room(s) over and over again.
Unfortunately, sometimes they go on a little to long. There is probably 30 minutes of footage that has action, movement, or development in it. The rest is just scenery porn, which is unique considering the glow of Bangcock but gets a little long in the tooth after you see the same room(s) over and over again.
While the direction and cinematography is on point, where the film really falls apart is in the plot, acting, and blunt yet hard to decipher imagery. The movie's plot can be easily described as a basic revenge circle, with Julian (Gosling) being the pawn to his mother's wishes, and clashes against a Vigilante/retired/old(?) cop who extracts his own revenge/torture on criminals. Simple right?
Where the film really gets bogged down is what it all means. Is Pansringarm (the cop) god/the devil/some other supernatural entity? Is he meant to be the protagonist or villain? What little characterization we get regarding Gosling's character is also contradictory (I would assume he has no more than 2 pages of dialogue in the entire film) and paints him as a despicable and somewhat weak drug-dealer. By the end of the movie, I was having trouble discerning who I was supposed to be rooting for, and was almost relieved when all the of the characters got what was coming to them.
Where the film really gets bogged down is what it all means. Is Pansringarm (the cop) god/the devil/some other supernatural entity? Is he meant to be the protagonist or villain? What little characterization we get regarding Gosling's character is also contradictory (I would assume he has no more than 2 pages of dialogue in the entire film) and paints him as a despicable and somewhat weak drug-dealer. By the end of the movie, I was having trouble discerning who I was supposed to be rooting for, and was almost relieved when all the of the characters got what was coming to them.
I get it when movies are very open to interpretation, but what separates the good and the bad in that category are the ones that at least point you in discernible directions. "Only God Forgives" comes across as aimless, almost as if Refn spent too much focus on making a pretty and deep picture but forgot to fill the hole with substance.
In the conclusion, even though the imagery and meanings can be deciphered after thinking about them (finally go the bit about Gosling's hands), the films slow pace, lack of strong characters, and almost avant-garde quality to it makes it easily the weakest of Refn's Films. I love the major fight scene in it, and would love to see Refn do a more straight-forward and better paced independent action film.
Overall Grade: C
