X
- 2013
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 30 m
- 2013
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 30 m
Summary Julian lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna, arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Ven...
Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn
Written By: Nicolas Winding Refn
- 2013
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 30 m
- 2013
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 30 m
Only God Forgives
37
7.8
Where to Watch
Summary Julian lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna, arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Ven...
Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn
Written By: Nicolas Winding Refn
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
37
15% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
36% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
49% Negative
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 39 Critic Reviews
37
15% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
36% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
49% Negative
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
Experimental and uncompromising, Winding Refn and Gosling’s Drive follow-up is a tripped-out riff on the crime family movie in which The Grifters — literally — go to hell.
It’s no "Drive," and even hardcore fans will struggle to love a film that’s as mad as a bag of prawn crackers, but as an exercise in style, it has many moments to savour.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 572 User Ratings
7.8
74% Positive
425 Ratings
425 Ratings
12% Mixed
68 Ratings
68 Ratings
14% Negative
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 572 User Ratings
7.8
74% Positive
425 Ratings
425 Ratings
12% Mixed
68 Ratings
68 Ratings
14% Negative
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
The results are sometimes striking, in pure visual terms, but rarely engaging; even as a brutish saga of underworld retribution, the film fails to get the heart pounding.
However mystifying, or downright boring, you find the result, rest assured that the Refn faithful will swoon. Peace be with them.
The wallpaper emotes more than Ryan Gosling does in Only God Forgives, an exercise in supreme style and minimal substance.
It’s not that overwrought violence and human depravity are unfit grist for art, but without a compelling plot and a modicum of character development, all this film has to offer is a repugnant prurience and heavy-handed atmospherics.
In Cannes, one wag described it as “cinematic defecation” in print. I’d like to top that one, but as James Agee used to say, I know when I’m licked.
Only God Forgives is a movie that gets a ton of hate. Well, I love it, and I think it's an underrated masterpiece.
Wanna fight?
This is one of the most insanely beautiful looking movies I've ever seen. It's like giant neon light in the shape of a movie. Everytime I watch it I'm just in awe at how good this film looks.
Ryan Gosling in this movie is amazing in the way he just stares into the abyss in the most inhuman way possible. He's eyes rarely focus.
I love the music. The karaoke scenes, particularly the one that closes the film, are amazing. This movie has probably my favorite ending credit sequence of all time.
This film just wraps around me and doesn't let me go. Masterful from a technical perspective and a lot more emotional than most people might think. I never found it boring, I never though it was confusing, and I definitetly never thought it was just shallow eye candy.
Behind all the neon and violence hides a disturbing story of two brother's sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of their domineering mother, and the guilt that one of them feels for the crimes he commited under her command. It just so happens to be told in a mostly implicit way.
What can I say? I'm a **** for these kinds of movies.
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There is more good than bad here in director Nicolas Winding Refn's bloody follow-up to Drive. Personally, I prefer this one to Drive (though I need to watch it again). What holds this one back is the hyper violence. It is just honestly too much. That being said, there are not many films as beautiful as this one and as artistic as this one. Sporting such Russian concepts as the "Kuleshov effect" and montage, Only God Forgives is a highly artistic exercise in the hands of the ever talented Refn. The acting is pretty non-descript, namely thanks to the lack of dialogue for the most part. That being said, what acting there is, is solid. It is wooden, but that is purposeful, so the actors did a good job capturing that. The cinematography and lighting are both truly breathtaking and what stand as the main reason I largely did enjoy this one. Though it is not for everyone, Only God Forgives is a beautifully crafted film that may seem aimless and meaningless to some, but if you are willing to indulge it, you should enjoy it, but only if you do not mind such brutal violence.
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Probably the most divisive and polarizing movie of 2013. Only God Forgives is not a bad film. It's not. But it's not great one either. Let's start with the good. The visuals and cinematography are breathtaking. Each shot is stunning and ****'s a atmospheric film, and it's dark sinister vibe draws the viewer in. It's definitely an experimental film, and one better suited for art-house audiences. Now let's start with the bad. The film is extremely slow, and the narrative is rather weak. The characters are more symbols rather than truly fleshed out **** never truly feel invested in what's unfolding on screen. Overall I think OGF is worth checking out, if your looking for something "unique" and "different" than the norm. If your just looking for a casual film to watch, stay far away. My rating: 6.7/10
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As a follow-up to the incomparable Drive from 2011, Nicolas Winding Refn has left us confused and disappointed. Only God Forgives features an even more speechless Ryan Gosling amidst an odd southern Asian noir.
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Production Company
Space Rocket Nation,
Gaumont,
Wild Bunch,
Motel Movies,
Film i Väst,
DR/Filmklubben,
Nordisk Film ShortCut,
Det Danske Filminstitut,
Nordisk Film & TV-Fond,
MEDIA Programme of the European Union
Release Date Jul 19, 2013
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating R
Tagline Time to Meet The Devil
Awards
Danish Film Awards (Robert)
• 3 Wins & 7 Nominations
Golden Trailer Awards
• 4 Nominations
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
