Not a Movie Snob - POTW: Only God Forgives

Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2013 at 06:00 PM

Drive was the best movie of 2011 and is one of the best movies of all time in my opinion. So whatever director Nicolas Winding Refn's next picture was going to be, my anticipation was going to be sky high. And it is. A boxing, gangster film of some sort that takes place in Thailand? Yes please.

Starring Drive's Ryan Gosling, the poster for Only God Forgives feautres, not unlike the poster for Raging Bull (single greatest film of all time) a black and white image of the protagonists face beaten to a pulp. It's minimalist in what it offers us about the story, but not so much so that it fails to be entirely intriguing. Why does this guy's face look like several heavy Italian women were trying to turn it into wine by dancing all over it in their bare feet? Is this the result of a boxing match, or a retaliation from some unsavory hoods?

And does the title denote a revenge thriller? All questions I can't wait to have answered.