Only God Forgives - Movie Review And My Experience At The Screening

Only God Forgives was making its North American premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival this year and when I found out about it, I immediately went to the site for tickets. Unfortunately the tickets were sold out and I was a bit bummed out. A month before, it made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival and was one of the most anticipated films there. After all, two years ago "Drive" was able to beat the competition and scored Nicolas Winding Refn the Best Director prize there. However, after the screening for Only God Forgives ended, the immediate reactions were very negative. Most of the complaints seemed to have been about the ultra violence, the slow pacing, and meaningless shots that linger on forever. Some even complained about the fact that Ryan Gosling only had about 17 lines in the entire movie. Of course, this made me somewhat worried but then the positive reactions came. The divided audience got me curious and even more excited for the movie. The LA Film Fest later opened another screening and I was able to score a ticket.

By the time I found a seat at the screening, I sat down and made myself comfortable. There was a man sitting on my left who was there alone. I asked if he was looking forward to the movie and he said yes. We were both fans of "Drive" and began talking about how the slow pace of that movie made the short bursts of violence even more effective. I always described "Drive" as a romantic drama with horror elements. I later discovered that he was a fan of horror movies, particularly the slow burners. These are the films that take their time to set the mood. We discussed movies including:
- The House of the Devil
- The Innkeepers
- Insidious
- The Conjuring
- Paranormal Activity
- V/H/S and V/H/S/2
- Cheap Thrills (a movie that he recommended to me)
- Evil Dead (2012)

Then the talking stopped when somebody came up to the front in order to announce a few words, who was later followed by director Nicolas Winding Refn.

He said a few words to the audience, talking about when making the movie, he approached it in a very old fashioned way. The message that I took from his introduction was basically saying, "Don't expect a Drive 2: Thailand Edition".

After he was done, the lights went down and the movie started.

If you're not familiar with the plot for Only God Forgives, it's essentially about a mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) who wants her son Julian (Ryan Gosling) to track down the individual responsible for killing his brother (Tom Burke). What begins as a simple revenge hit turns into a nightmare for everybody on Julian's side. The person of interest that they're dealing with, Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), is more than he seems to be.

                     

                                   "It's a little more complicated than that, mother."
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Only God Forgives is a very intriguing film. During the initial viewing, my mind was glued to every shot. The gorgeous cinematography combined with Cliff Martinez's haunting score was excellent. They complimented each other extremely well. The movie is beautiful yet disturbing at the same time.

Not everybody will appreciate the visuals though. Extreme acts of violence happen periodically throughout and it's quite graphic. In fact, three people at our screening left during one of those scenes. I'm sure my mother would despise this movie.

Only God Forgives moves at a very slow pace. Almost snail-like in terms of events unfolding. Shots linger and this was where I found my true enjoyment for the film. Certain things are shown multiple times and this made me wonder why.

What I really liked about the film was the amount of interpretation there is for you. Things are happening but some of them is almost surreal-like as if they're blurring the line between reality and a dreamlike fantasy. It's up for the viewer to wonder why certain things are being done. Ryan Gosling's Julian doesn't have much dialogue and we never get to know him but Crystal, his mother, says a line about his childhood. That alone speaks volumes once you look at Julian as an adult and what he's done onscreen regarding the situation that his mother placed him in.

The performances by everybody were fine. Ryan Gosling does his best with the material. Vithaya Pansringarm is a menacing figure who has a strong screen presence. I looked at him as a mythological being. He was a character who was God in human form. However, Kristen Scott Thomas was the true standout. Whenever she spoke, it was exciting. I loved her energy and was happy to see her every time she was in a scene.

What I didn't like about Only God Forgives is the catalyst and the weak paper thin plot. You don't know much about Julian's brother except for the fact that he committed an ugly crime which led to his inevitable death. Julian, who seems to have changed his life on a more positive note, is forced to get his hands dirty one more time. Then again, if that didn't happen, we wouldn't have a movie, would we?

Once the end credits rolled, our audience clapped and the man next to me left. Did he enjoyed it? Never got to know his name unfortunately.

I have a feeling that the more I think about Only God Forgives, the more I will appreciate it.

OVERALL:

Be prepared for a super slow movie. Patience is key here. Ryan Gosling barely has any lines but just like Drive, he's able to convey a character with his facial expressions and actions. Only God Forgives never spells anything out for you. They'll show something onscreen but it's up to you to interpret what the movie is trying to say.

The music by Cliff Martinez is haunting. It compliments the amazing cinematography. Only God Forgives is a beautiful movie with disturbing imagery.

Watch it with an open mind. Keep your expectations low and there's a good chance you might find something intriguing about Only God Forgives. Don't go in expecting another Drive. If you liked Refn's "Valhalla Rising", then you might like this film as well. Very similar to each other, Minimal plot, striking cinematography, sparse dialogue, and trippy in general. 

8/10