There’s a lot to expect from Nicolas Winding Refn as suggested by the previous trailers of his Ryan Gosling dark noir Only God Forgives . If going by just the last two trailers that came out, Only God Forgives is the big boy version of his moody film Drive, which also starred Gosling.
Although it’s suggested that Only God Forgives is another minimalist approach from Refn, the new trailer released gives away snippets of its plot and ultra stylized neon lit atmosphere. Julian (Gosling) seems to be persuaded to travel to Bangkok to reap revenge on the man that killed his brother while dealing with family pressure put on him by his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) to stand up for his family name.
Through the Drafthouse blog Only God Forgives is deeper explained:
“A searching, silent, emotionally-damaged character, Julian has clearly suffered adolescent emotional trauma at the hands of his hyper-dysfunctional mother Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas).The last central force in this classical tragedy lies in Thai uber-policeman Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm). Seemingly above both petty emotions and the law, Chang drifts silently throughout the film, rendering quick and sometimes lethal judgement on anyone and everyone who has strayed from the righteous path. ”
Earlier this year the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. Some critics called the film pointless, while other called it unnecessarily violent. Filmmaker Refn explained the backlash in a statement:
“How can I expect someone to not react like this when on one hand you are dropping what you do in everyone’s face and at the same time saying, ‘Love me, please,’ you know? You’re going to get that. You know, great art — horrible thing to say — but art is meant to divide, because if it doesn’t divide, it doesn’t penetrate, and if it doesn’t penetrate, you just consume it.”
Only God Forgives hits theaters on July 19.
Are you excited to see Only God Forgives ? Check the trailer out below:
