Only God Forgives is Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling's follow-up to the critically acclaimed Drive, so expectations are understandably high, yet the all-new red-band trailer steps out with confidence. Paradoxically understated and aggressive all at once, it's marvelous.
While aesthetically and audibly its style points are through the roof, and its effortless blend of restrained performance and bursts of toe-curling ultra-violence is an experience in itself, Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive isn't exactly a film that lends itself well to successful sequels.
I loved Drive, you probably loved Drive, any self-respecting film fan can at least find something to like in Drive. It stands to reason that anticipation for the next collaboration between Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling (the DeNiro to his Scorsese, the Rob Schneider to his Adam Sandler) would be incredibly high.
That film is called Only God Forgives, and here are some pics...
Drivers of the world, are you tired of unofficial Drive posters yet? If you are, you'll be meeting the business end of Ryan Gosling's hammer before the day is out. If not, you're in for another treat.
You’ve got five minutes to pull off the job. He doesn’t take part, he doesn’t come inside and he doesn’t carry any weapons. He drives.
So begins the strangest, coolest, most beautiful minor-mainstream hit of 2011: a thriller that somehow combines the sweetness of a 1980s John Hughes movie, the unflinching violence of Takeshi Miike and the saturated, beautifully composed visuals of vintage David Lynch. It’s the kind of picture that sends film-buffs into a state of trance-like wonder. Nevertheless, it was reported in America that some literal-minded viewers complained it didn’t live up to the promise of its trailer. They were expecting a conventional fast-car heist-movie in the style of the Fast and the Furious, but what they got was a film noir – and a classical one at that.
This is hardly news but, as the sites resident Drive fanatic, I felt it necessary to share this awesome new art print with you.
Many reviews are all about the pre-release buzz, they must function as either an advertisement or a warning and so they have to trade in the vague. You have likely read many pre-release reviews for Drive but this comes post-release and will tie in closely to the Drive-In feature that has ran on the site over the preceding three weeks. There will be some small spoilers, but nothing explicit for those who still need convincing - this review is more focused on analysing the film in depth and hopefully opening up discussion about what it achieves and where it stands in its genre.
This Friday saw the release of the critically acclaimed crime thriller Drive, over the last three weeks we have looked at the films that inspired Nicolas Winding Refn. Now we look at the filmography of the man himself, leading up to a review of the film that started it all.
Today sees the release of Drive and to celebrate, Lost In The Multiplex is looking at a series of films that are connected or a direct influence to Nicolas Winding Refn's highly anticipated thriller.
Mainstream cinema clings to this idea that we must not only follow our protagonists, we must understand them, we need to see the shading that makes up a person's life; family, friends, big emotional beats that drive them to do what they do.
This Friday, Drive will be pulling into cinemas around the UK. To celebrate, Lost In The Multiplex is looking at a series of films that are connected or a direct influence to Nicolas Winding Refn's highly anticipated thriller.
Vanishing Point is a change of pace from the last three tense action heavy thrillers. Vanishing Point is actually an action heavy, philosophical road movie.
The film begins in an unassuming fashion; a quiet town, a stillness in the air, the sound of lone police sirens and the rumble of heavy machinery breaks through. Two large bulldozers roll into position, forming a police barricade. The broad immovable blades of these machines are more than a simple blockade, they are inevitability given a tangible form.
It is impossible to discuss Vanishing Point without spoiling the ending, yet the word "spoil" seems a strong term as the end of Vanishing Point is clear from the beginning. This movie can only end one way; in death.
