The film: "Only God Forgives".
The first sentence in the review from Variety:
**"The wallpaper emotes more than Ryan Gosling does in 'Only God Forgives,' an exercise in supreme style and minimal substance from 'Drive' director Nicolas Winding Refn."**
So I decided to give the film a look. After all, the same director made "Drive" with Gosling to great acclaim. So what went wrong here? Absolutely nothing. Yes, it was poorly received and Gosling took a lot of heat for his minimalist performance, but the very thin script is to blame if the lead actor has very few words to say.
Style over substance? Definitely. I thought Gosling was just fine. And the look and languor over the film totally worked for me.
That Variety review is pretty harsh but kinda misses the point. Gosling's performance was supposed to be minimal - his character is basically broken and hollow throughout whole film, so having him show less emotion actually makes sense for story
The neon-soaked visuals and slow pacing work together to create this dreamlike nightmare vibe that wouldn't hit same way if he was more expressive
25
Far_Gift6173Mar 25, 2026
+16
"Only God Forgives" is a "unrestrained director" movie like megalopolis or beau is afraid.
"Kinda worth it, but not really" category
16
animatedradioMar 25, 2026
+1
Oh man. Beau is afraid is a great film that I’ll never watch again because it was just exhausting lol
1
Far_Gift6173Mar 25, 2026
+2
You can see the brilliance but also the distorted mind that is needed to think that up
2
OreoSpeedwaggonMar 25, 2026
+3
That seems like more of a critique of Refn's direction than Gosling's performance to me. Variety wasn't alone in their criticism. Many outlets considered "Only God Forgives" to be a step down compared to "Drive." The critics' fault is comparing it to "Drive" in the first place just because the lead actor and director are the same, but it was never supposed to be a copy of his previous film.
3
CakeMadeOfHamMar 25, 2026
+6
Well, Only God Forgives was a terrible movie so there's that as well. Refn wanted it to be his Apocalypse Now.
6
LuffyIsBlackMar 25, 2026
-5
Some people like Refn. I hate those people.
-5
CakeMadeOfHamMar 25, 2026
+2
He's done some good work undoubtedly. But only God can forgive Only God Forgives.
2
SquirrelMoney8389Mar 25, 2026
+2
Variety.... pfft.
By the time of "Only God Forgives" we knew what Gosling does, since "The Believer" and "Half Nelson". Whatever was wrong with that movie, it wasn't his fault.
Edit: \*Half Nelson
2
oddwithoutendMar 25, 2026
+3
For me personally, this is still the movie the critics got the most wrong (at least initally - many have since realized it's a great film). And it's not because of Gosling's acting, a thin script, or style over substance. It was due to how much it rattles a viewer who was expecting something like *Drive*.
3
Sparrowsabre7Mar 25, 2026
It's because Drive (and maybe the Pushers?) Is his most digestible film to the average movie goer. His other work is esoteric and weird (deliberately so). Some would say pretentious but if you watch any interviews with him he seems like the most down to earth guy. He puts onscreen what he wants, whether the audience like it is up to them, but he never pretends to be more important than he is.
There's a hilarious BTS video of him gleefylly describing OGF the film as being like a Womb and Ryan Gosling deadpanning directly into camera like he's on the office.
if this movie didnt come out after Drive no one would care. as it is, a movie that was barely released anywhere, only a few people care. not seeing what the big deal is.
1
ZorroMeansFoxMar 25, 2026
+1
I thought the film was quite substantial.
1
DukeRaoul123Mar 25, 2026
+1
It's a great movie to watch with no sound just for the visuals. There wasn't much for Gosling to do tho and I think people just had high expectations after Drive.
1
Sparrowsabre7Mar 25, 2026
+2
Refn is unmatched in creating audivisual sound scapes. His dialogue is stilted and odd but the sounds and sights are always intriguing.
I personally go to bat for OGF but it's definitely niche appeal. His Amazon series Too Old To Die Young is Refn turned to 11. Huge stretches of no dialogue but a visual and audio treat, oddly hypnotic to watch.
2
JuiceboxfromspaceMar 25, 2026
-2
Just fine is a good description of his acting.
-2
cineaste2Mar 25, 2026
I didn't mean to damn R.G. with faint praise.
0
JuiceboxfromspaceMar 25, 2026
Yeah I understood, but I thought Id chime in haha.
I think he’s a serviceable actor that I never complained about and he really really knows how to choose his movies/roles.
0
SlideItIn100Mar 25, 2026
-10
Ryan Gosling’s acting is like vanilla ice cream, and I don’t mean to good stuff that’s delicious, I mean the c**** stuff with no real vanilla and no discernible vanilla flavor.
It tastes ok, but it’s bland and forgettable.
21 Comments