Only God Forgives is a hard to swallow minimalistic substance of brilliance with no middle ground. You will either love it or hate it. Warning: to make it through the film one must have endless patience and a strong stomach. Drive Director, Nicolas Winding Refn returns with this experimental, beautifully crafted crime thriller. Make no mistake to expect a Drive squeal, the partnership of Refn and Gosling continues to make one as an audience member fall in love with the screen, but this is a complete new set of characters and pace. Gosling once more outstands himself, bringing to life another character of little words. It is a simple case of less is more, add a sprinkle of emotional turmoil and you have a delicious mix. One thing is for sure Ryan Gosling has been climbing a steep daring stairway to stardom, but from the top it's a hard fall. God forgive if he takes a mediocre role. Yet Gosling is not the only shining star, Kristin Scott Thomas repeatedly pierce the audience with her sharp tongue and vicious acting. If you will not see the film for the story-line see it for the efforts of these two actors and the films artistry.
Julian (Ryan Gosling) and Brother Billy (Tom Burke) run a successful boxing ring doubling as center for family business, smuggling. Business takes a step back when ring leader Billy is brutally murdered and long estranged 'nurturing' mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) with venom tongue arrives to Bangkok to demand her son's revenge. Who is one to deny mother's wishes? And so we embark on Julian's attempt to put down his brothers killer, in the process entangling himself with sword wielding policeman Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm.)
Rotten Tomatoes - 36% (why?)
IMDb - 6.2/10 (that's better)
