Only God Forgives (2013)

Written and Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam

Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.

Following the success and rave reviews of what I consider a masterpiece ("Drive"), Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling decided to team up for another collaboration. But where their first effort triumphs, their second effort is less than impressive.

While it may seem counterproductive to talk about a completely different movie in a review, it is because of the director's choices that I feel compelled to do so. There was so much greatness in "Drive" that they tried to duplicate with this film.

The most notable thing about "Drive" is how little the protagonist speaks throughout the movie. It is obvious that they attempted to replicate that aspect in "Only God Forgives". But what Refn forgot was what made the quiet protagonist in his 2011 picture so powerful is the fact that no one around him would shut up. When everyone was saying whatever came to their minds without a filter, Gosling's character thought and meticulously chose his words. In "Only God Forgives", no one talks much. And when they do, it's usually crass, illogical and unnecessary.

One of the biggest problems I had with this movie is how vile every single character was. Not one character was justified in anything they did and it is apparent that the director only made it that way to have as much gratuitous violence as possible. The entire thing felt like a Tarantino-Scorsese inspired student film in which the students had no real aim with what they were trying to say. Everything was so meaningless and screamed of it's desire to be considered art.

Despite being only 89-minutes long, I found myself checking the time constantly. It's short run time is lost to it's long, drawn-out scenes. If the director hadn't been attempting to remake "Drive" without all of the things that made "Drive" great and he actually took the time to think this story out (or at least the way in which it was told), I feel this could have been a great movie.

With gorgeous shots, an amazing soundtrack and decent performances in spite of a half-assed script, this movie had parts of the foundation of what makes movies memorable. But ultimately, it falls short and crumbles into a big messy heap.

My Rating: 4/10