Only God Forgives

Posted on: 2nd August 2013  |

Director: Nicholas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm
UK Release date: 2 August 2013
Certificate: 18 (90 mins)

Is it just coincidence that the family dynamic in a film called Only God Forgives bears some resemblance to the most well-known parable about forgiveness? The younger of two brothers feels that he has displeased a parent and so plans to earn favour again by putting himself at that parent’s disposal; while the elder son’s warped concept of love leads him to make mistakes but does not lose him his place in his parent’s affection.

The answer to my opening question is undoubtedly: yes. It would be clutching at straws to argue for anything other than the loosest typological relationship between this film and the Prodigal Son – the similarities end with the description above – but the comparison serves to highlight the moral, and narrative, emptiness of this film. The parent here is a mother (Kristin Scott Thomas), a monstrous puppet-master who manipulates her younger son, Julian (Ryan Gosling) into embarking on a violent hunt for the killer of her eldest son, Billy. Her only similarity to the parabolic father is her unconditional adoration of Billy. ‘Billy raped and killed a 16-year-old girl’, she is told. Her reply? ‘I’m sure he had his reasons.’

We learn later why her favour does not extend to Julian, although when she states her reason it has a hint of untruth about it. This might be because it is hard to believe that the all-but-silent Julian would have been capable of the offence she accuses him of without it having been at her bidding. He is a pawn in his mother’s game, which pits him against a renegade, sword-wielding cop (Vithaya Pansringarm) for the majority of the film. Gosling cannot utter more than 40 words, but unlike his recent turns in Drive (also directed by Nicholas Winding Refn) and The Place Beyond the Pines, there is something stirring about his physical performance.

There is an economy of movement not just in Gosling’s Julian but across the whole film. Along with its evocative soundtrack, this makes Only God Forgives superficially very impressive. Even though there is an overall stillness, the Bangkok in which the film is set nonetheless comes across as dangerous and haunting thanks to inventive cinematography and art direction. The predominant colours are black and red, which lends to the whole piece a tension that the few naturally-lit shots do little to release.

However, if you plan to see this film, you should know that it fully deserves its 18 certificate. Some of the camerawork may be exquisite, but the level of brutality is shocking throughout and there were times when I had to turn away from the screen. While I begrudgingly admire the skill in choreographing such aggression without it seeming chaotic – one particular fight sequence, shot from overhead, was quite stunning – I have real reservations about the graphic violence in this film. It is as if a conscious decision was made to replace characterisation and dialogue with bloodshed, but no matter how well-staged or visually impressive, this is neither justified nor effective as a plot device.

Tom Burke as the depraved, misogynistic, elder brother, Billy, has little to do, which is a shame. Anyone who saw him play Bentley Drummle in the BBC’s excellent 2011 adaptation of Great Expectations will have witnessed a masterful performance, infused with venom but cloaked in subtlety. Unlike that story, vice in this film is ubiquitous and obvious, so there is no requirement for the nuanced depiction of malice that he is capable of delivering. Kristin Scott Thomas has been lauded for her performance as Crystal, whose scheming has more than a shade of Lady Macbeth about it, but the brashness that the film requires of her does not really offer any opportunities for understatement or intricacy.

The 2011 film Animal Kingdom might be of interest to anyone who wants to see a more substantial and less violent take on a similar idea. Jacki Weaver excels in the role parallel to that of Scott Thomas, a crazed matriarch of a family at war. Whereas Only God Forgives uses primary colours to tell a story, Animal Kingdom makes full use of the colour palette.

In a recent article for this journal, my colleague Fr Jim Crampsey said of the Parable of the Prodigal Son that ‘the totality of what is broken has been restored.’ Such is the power of forgiveness. At the end of this film, anything that could have been restored is in pieces. None of these characters has any business with God or with forgiveness, and so if the film succeeds in one respect, it is in presenting a case for the statement in its title.



Frances Murphy



 Visit this film's official web site




 

Only God Forgives - Official Trailer #2 (HD) Ryan Gosling

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