Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Bronson) writes and directs this film which gives story a back seat to form, style and karaoke. Julian (Ryan Gosling) and his brother, Billy (Tom Burke), run a boxing gym and drug ring in the neon-lit underbelly of Bangkok. One night, Billy leaves the gym and sets out to “fuck a fourteen-year-old” and ends up murdering her. When the police show up, led by the almost supernatural Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), they bring in the girl’s father who proceeds to brutally murder Billy with a bat. When Billy’s mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), hears of his death, she flies to Bangkok to make sure that his death is paid back in blood.
While there is a brutal story of revenge that’s almost entirely blanketed in blood, the story seems to be the part of the film that’s the least essential. The film, like Drive (which Refn didn’t write), takes a very minimalistic approach to dialogue. Perhaps due to Refn’s weak script or maybe a conscious choice, this approach worked well to convey a story that was more to be felt than told and seemed to be trying to question morality. Throughout the film, Julian struggles between obeying his mother’s revenge plans and doing the right thing by forgiving his brother’s (arguably just) death and leaving the family business (and his mother’s control) behind. A series of dream sequences and violent outbursts help convey his inner struggle to reconcile his actions with his morals. He’s a man truly struggling between who he is and who he wants to be. At the same time, Chang, the police chief, is running through the streets taking justice into his own hands with violent “lessons” using a sword always strapped to his back.
The film, for me, is more of a piece of visual art. There’s rarely a scene where the lighting reveals the entire setting; rather, Refn prefers to have characters placed just right so that the light can hit their faces while shining through holes in the wall. The low light and the careful staging of each shot comes across as so calculated in a film where most actions seem to be impulsive. I found a lot of the cinematography to be very Kubrick-ian: the symmetry of scenes, the tracking shots and the dominating score all combine to give the audience the feeling that what’s happening isn’t quite of this world.
The story spends a lot of time exploring its own themes, so much so that it feels lost at several points; however, the way the story is told more than makes up for it. While the cinematography is fantastic, the acting is also very good. Kristin Scott Thomas totally steals the show. She plays a mother who has seemingly always adored Billy, leaving Julian to constantly try to earn her approval. Ryan Gosling is also great, playing a character similar to the Driver with his puppy dog eyes and ability to snap convincingly into fits of ultra-violence.
I very much enjoyed this film, despite its poor critical reception. While the story definitely had problems, if you can overlook those you’ll find a great film. There’s Refn’s signature – ultraviolent action with several scenes of wall to wall blood – along with amazing visuals set to harrowing electronic soundtrack and a thought-provoking story questioning morality, justice and family.
Grade: A
The film, for me, is more of a piece of visual art. There’s rarely a scene where the lighting reveals the entire setting; rather, Refn prefers to have characters placed just right so that the light can hit their faces while shining through holes in the wall. The low light and the careful staging of each shot comes across as so calculated in a film where most actions seem to be impulsive. I found a lot of the cinematography to be very Kubrick-ian: the symmetry of scenes, the tracking shots and the dominating score all combine to give the audience the feeling that what’s happening isn’t quite of this world.
The story spends a lot of time exploring its own themes, so much so that it feels lost at several points; however, the way the story is told more than makes up for it. While the cinematography is fantastic, the acting is also very good. Kristin Scott Thomas totally steals the show. She plays a mother who has seemingly always adored Billy, leaving Julian to constantly try to earn her approval. Ryan Gosling is also great, playing a character similar to the Driver with his puppy dog eyes and ability to snap convincingly into fits of ultra-violence.
I very much enjoyed this film, despite its poor critical reception. While the story definitely had problems, if you can overlook those you’ll find a great film. There’s Refn’s signature – ultraviolent action with several scenes of wall to wall blood – along with amazing visuals set to harrowing electronic soundtrack and a thought-provoking story questioning morality, justice and family.
Grade: A
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