Synopsis:
Julian (Ryan Gosling), a respected figure in the criminal underworld of Bangkok, runs a Thai boxing club and smuggling ring with his brother Billy. Billy is suddenly murdered and their crime lord matriarch, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives from London to bring back the body. When Jenna forces Julian to settle the score with his brother's killers, Julian finds himself in the ultimate showdown. (c) Radius
Story:
Based on the synopsis of the movie, it looks like this will be your typical revenge flick, but it is not. This movie is one big metaphor for judgment in heaven. There are a lot of elements in this movie that you can clearly see that it is heavily influenced by religion, this influence played a big part in the movie and if you don't see this metaphor then you will clearly not like the story of this movie.
But what I really liked about the story is the execution of it, there was barely any dialogue in it and I really liked that, it added much more mystery to the movie and to my opinion it added much more depth to it that you really need to focus on the movie and to understand what it is trying to say.
There is one more thing that I somehow didn't like, and that is the dream sequences, there were tons of this sequence in the movie and in my opinion Refn should have added more of this so as to have more base to these scenes.
Acting:
Like in 'Drive' Gosling barely spoke in this film and in fact he speaks more dialogue in 'Drive' and his performance in 'Drive' is basically the same with his performance in this movie but when it comes to the grittiness, I have to say that his performance in this one is much more gritty because just when you look at his eyes in this one, you can feel there is something gut-wrenching about this character and Gosling displayed it perfectly.
As for Kristin Scott-Thomas she was very good in her role and she displays threat and care for his sons (way too much care) and every time she appears on screen, she just steals each scene, I can't think of any other actress who can be good in this role.
Last but not the least, is Vithaya Pansringarm who played the cop named Chang who also dominates the screen whenever he appears. This character is like the leader of all cops and in the film he basically acts as God and in my opinion he nailed the role, he was threatening yet you can understand the character, what I didn't like about the character though is the way he walks, it's just super slow and to me it decreases the threat factor a little bit.
Violence:
Blood and guts, stabbing and a beat 'em up style. Yes this is an ultra-violent film which at times didn't feel like it should have been that violent but still it worked with the film. It was able to show how far the consequences to our actions go.
Music:
If there is an aspect that you are going to find at a Refn film, it is the choice of music and the cinematography (I'll talk more about this later). The music was perfect in this movie, it was a match made in heaven, the music sets the mood, it ups the ante of each scenes and it can definitely bring tension to the screen.
Much like his past films with 'Bronson' and 'Drive' his choice of music here was just great, not just great but too damn perfect.
Cinematography:
I fell in love with the cinematography of this movie, Larry Smith and Nicolas Winding Refn did a wonderful job in this movie. The neon colors, the long shots, the alley shots, it was simply amazing. It fits perfectly with the tone of the movie and it fits perfectly with each scene they are going for. I have no complaint in this aspect as it really showed the beauty of this film. If there is one thing that made the movie so much better than it already is, it is because of this.
Direction:
Winding-Refn's direction in 'Drive' was a little slow paced yet it worked well with the film because it helps you to delve into the characters and the story more and in this movie he also made it slow paced and to me, much like 'Drive' it also worked. It allows you to focus on the story and to deeply understand the motive of the characters.
He was also able to bring out a great performance from the cast especially Kristin Scott-Thomas and Vithaya Pansringarm in which I said earlier is a scene-stealer in the movie.
Overall:
'Only God Forgives' is not your typical revenge flick, this one has heart and breathtaking in which it allows you to divulge in each scene being shown. This is one big great of a metaphor of a movie and I just loved every frigging minute of it. This movie requires deep concentration and also if you are a fan Nicolas Winding Refn you definitely like this movie.
Favorite line:
Julian: Wanna fight?
P.S.
This is a great explanation of the movie from Chris Stuckmann (SPOILERS AHEAD)
No comments:
Post a Comment