ONLY GOD FORGIVES

Directed by: Nicholas Winding Refn
Released: 2013

I knew I had to see this movie for two reasons: 1.) it got so much fucking hate and negative criticism that I knew I'd enjoy it, and 2.) it was directed by Nicholas Refn, and while I didn't think "Drive" was as great as everyone else did, I absolutely fucking loved "Valhalla Rising."  "Only God Forgives" seems to have more in common with the latter than the former, employing minimal dialogue, long, slow shots, interesting sound design and a killer score.  I didn't know much about the story going into it, but it's pretty simple: Ryan Gosling and his brother are living in Thailand, where Gosling runs an illegal drug ring and fight club deal.  His brother ends up sleeping with, and murdering, a 14 or 15 year old prostitute.  Obviously, the father of the girl wants revenge, and gets it.  Enter Gosling's mother, who travels from the US to identify her son's corpse, not knowing the full story.  She gets it, and immediately decides that her eldest son needs to exact revenge on those who killed his brother.  She's a brutal, cold hearted cunt, and she's just perfect.  She has extremely inappropriate conversations with and about her sons, and she cusses like a goddamn sailor.  I thought she was great. 

The film was dark yet extremely colorful, it was quiet but loud, it was brutally violent but somehow restricted and not at all exploitative.  This has more in common with an art film than anything else.  Anyone who's a fan of truly interesting and different film making should see this.  Or, if you're looking for a decent crime/drama story, this'll do you just fine.  8/10