Only God Forgives (2013) Review

4.5/5

I saw this film and the director, Nicolas Winding Refn, was in attendance for a Q&A. He described Drive as "cocaine" and Only God Forgives as "an acid trip," and he was spot on. I loved Drive immensely and originally thought that this would be a film in the same vein, until I heard the negative press coming out of Cannes Film Festival this past May. "What?" I thought, "Refn's new film is getting booed?" I was eager to see it for myself, and it most certainly did not disappoint.

This film doesn't play so much as it breathes. It has a life and a definite pulse. You can feel it as you watch it, living in its beating rhythm and techno synths. It is a visceral film less to be enjoyed and more to be experienced. The visuals and score washed over me like a cascading wave, and every so often it crashed me down onto a jagged rock or lurking urchin. It is one of the more transcendent and transportive experiences I've had in the cinema recently.

The cinematography by Larry Smith is breathtaking. Each frame it appears is worthy of a frame all its own and a place on my wall. It is crafted with an atmospheric tension that only Refn seems able to concoct; a devilishly superior blend of mood, tone, and setting to create a film seared into the retina of the audience. The lighting, with its reds and blues and neons, only adds to the drama and is never a distractor. They pick the colors to light the scenes directly from what an audience member's soul is displaying in that moment, or at least it seems that way.

The score by Cliff Martinez is, in a word, perfect. A pulsating and brooding mix of dark electro beats and twangs of powerful bass amplify moments to levels of near exuberance and can sink you into depths so low it seems a chore to escape. I have no complaints about the score whatsoever.

Ryan Gosling has a magnetic force around him that I can never seem to shake off. Similarly to the fantastic The Place Beyond the Pines earlier this year, his eyes tell the story and when he is looking at something all we want to do is look with him. He is an actor, a true actor, capable of walking the line between mainstream and indie, and it is a joy watching him work. Given, there is just one too many shots of him staring. Kristen Scott Thomas is incredibly convincing and very, very good, perhaps worth the price of admission herself. Vithaya Pansringarm, the villain, is a master of the evil look and kill method, and he is one of the best adversaries to hit screens in recent memory. Yayaying Rhatha Phongam is sultry, smooth, sexual and convincing as a prostitute who is deeper than her job title suggests.

Yes, the film is bloody. Yes, there are extreme levels of violence that had me cringing. Mainstream audiences will be turned off by the grotesque and heinous nature of some gory acts in this film. Some of these scenes are done tongue-in-cheek, others are just brutal. The important thing, though, is that they exist for a reason. This film is best when you go in knowing nothing. The plot may appear paper thin at first, but if you dig for a reason and are willing to work, it will appear.

The mastermind behind this all is Nicolas Winding Refn. All of the things I mentioned above would be impossible without his commitment to fulfilling his dark, "erotic" visions and I think cinema is better for having him share his talent. As an aspiring filmmaker, I love good quotes from my favorites and when I saw him at the Q&A, the moderator asked him if he thinks spelling things out for an audience is important, or if he prefers just letting things sit and leave for interpretation. His response: "It may be true but it doesn't make it interesting." If you're willing to get behind that quote, as I wholeheartedly am, you will love this film as much as I did.