Only God Forgives

Even prior to entering the theater, my opinion of Only God Forgives changed multiple times. Upon originally hearing that this neo-noir film was selected to be a part of the official competition, I was absolutely thrilled. I was a huge fan of Refn and Gosling's work in Drive, and I was excited to see what would come out of their newest collaboration.

After hearing the opinions of some of my colleagues who had seen the film, however, I was immediately sobered. Not only did they tell me they hated the film, but they told me that some audience members had actually booed during their screening. I was appalled – how could a movie I was so looking forward to, be so hated by the public?

It was with this knowledge that I sat down in the Olympia with dampened optimism. I knew there was a good chance I might not like the film, but at least it would be pretty to look at (I'm not, of course, just referring to Ryan Gosling, but to the beautiful cinematography Refn's films are known for).

Perhaps because of my immensely lowered expectations, I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. Only God Forgives will delight fans of high-concept art films, but those looking for another repeat of Drive might be disappointed. Yes, the film's plot is merely the means to a (bloody) end – but between the minimalistic dialogue and the highly stylized and purposeful aesthetic, I think Refn has created another cinematic masterpiece. 

The film centers on Billy (Tom Burke) and Julian (Ryan Gosling), two brothers who operating a boxing club in Bangkok as a front for their family's drug trafficking ring. After Billy brutally rapes and murders a sixteen year-old girl, he is killed by the girl's father at the orders of Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) a Thai cop with a deranged sense of vengeance. Julian and his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) spend the course of the movie trying to find Chang and avenge Billy's death.

As the plot synopsis suggests, the narrative isn't particularly compelling on its own. Like every other noir film, it focuses of themes of greed, lust, betrayal, and moral ambiguity. The dialogue in Only God Forgives, also like many other noir films, is sparingly used and often overly-dramatic. However, while other moviegoers found the dialogue ridiculous, I found the lines to be purposefully humorous, and a nice way to break tension in in otherwise heavy scenes. 

In general, that's what I like about Refn films; they're purposeful. As someone who appreciates symbolism and enjoys critically analyzing art, I get the sense that everything in his films are deliberate and meaningful. Every line of dialogue is meticulously crafted and in the script in order to convey a very particular message; there is no room for ad-libbing. You see this deliberateness in his repetition of certain cinematic and musical themes.

For instance, there are many scenes in which a character sits completely still, their eyes turned up towards the heavens, in rooms where violence either has or is about to happen. This occurs after Billy murders the young girl, before Chang gets caught in a shootout, and to both Julian and his mother repeatedly throughout the course of the film. This passiveness in the face of chaos is a direct reflection of the film's title; these characters are looking to God for judgement before making their next move. Another repeated motif is Julian's hands. Throughout the film, his hands are seen first outstretched, the palms facing up as if begging, and then curled into fists. This represents the dichotomy Julian faces in his everyday life. On the one hand he wants to be a forgiving person, but he also has a side of him that desperately seeks vengeance. 

There are also many scenes of Julian's mother being shown in various sexual situations. Sometimes it's just that the dialogue is particularly suggestive. Sometimes, her outfits are very provocative in a way that makes Julian uncomfortable. Sometimes, the camera is angled in such away that it looks like Julian is in a position of sexual power of his mother. Regardless, the mother is very sexualized in this film, adding to the already Oedipal theme's in this film (it is later revealed that he killed his father as a child).

The score by Cliff Martinez also shows signs of Refn's particular influence. The loud booming gongs and high whistles not only incorporate traditional Thai music, but also add to the frenzy of the action scenes. In addition, several key scenes of sensuality have a sweeping romantic theme attached to them. This theme occurs three times – the first occurs when Julian imagines Mai (Yaya Ying Phogam) fingering herself while sitting on his bed. The second time occurs when Julian imagines Mai dragging his hand and inserting it into herself. The third, and perhaps most crucial time this music occurs, is after Julian has stabbed his mother in the stomach, and he reaches his hand inside her guts. Because this music has been used in all three scenarios involving hands being inserted into a female anatomy, it makes this last scene with his mother particularly disturbing and profound. 

Some will tell me that I'm reading far too much into a film that is otherwise a shallow bloodbath. I disagree. I believe that any film that makes me think this critically about how a film is shot, how music affects a scene, or how a glance from an actor conveys an emotion, can't be shallow by default. I love films that challenge the way I watch movies, and Only God Forgives does this while still being a highly entertaining watch.

Directed and Written by Nicolas Winding Refn; Cinematography by Larry Smith; Film Editing by Matthew Newman; Score by Cliff Martinez; Produced by Lene Borglum, Sidonie Dumas, and Vincent Maraval. In English and Thai, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

WITH: Ryan Gosling (Julian), Kristin Scott Thomas (Crystal), Vithaya Pansringarm (Chang), Tom Burke (Billy), and Yaya Ying Phogam (Mai).