Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vithaya Pansringarm.[2][5] The film was shot on location in Bangkok, Thailand,[6] and, as with Drive,[7] is dedicated to Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky.[8] It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[9]

Only God Forgives
Teaser poster
Directed byNicolas Winding Refn
Produced by
Written byNicolas Winding Refn
Starring
Music byCliff Martinez
CinematographyLarry Smith
Edited byMatthew Newman
Production
company
Distributed byRADiUS-TWC
Release date
  • 22 May 2013 (2013-05-22) (Cannes)
  • 30 May 2013 (2013-05-30) (Denmark)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
Country
  • Denmark
  • France[2]
LanguageEnglish
Thai
Budget$4.8 million[3]
Box office$10.6 million[4]

Plot

Julian is an American expatriate who, along with his older brother Billy, runs a Muay Thai boxing club in Bangkok, Thailand, as a front for drug dealing. Julian is quiet and seems to have a troubled past. He engages in deviant sexual practices, preferring to be bound as he watches his favorite prostitute, Mai, masturbate. One night, Billy rapes and kills an underage prostitute and is cornered by Thai police. Lieutenant Chang allows the girl's father, Choi Yan Lee, to exact his vengeance on Billy however he sees fit. Choi chooses to beat Billy to death in the same room Billy killed the girl, but Chang later cuts off Choi's forearm for allowing his daughter to be a prostitute in the first place. During a session with Mai, Julian has a vision of himself meeting Chang in a dark room, where Chang cuts his hands off.

Upon discovering his brother has been murdered, Julian and his crew go to Choi's kiosk to confront him but Julian ultimately decides to spare Choi's life. When Julian's mother, Crystal, arrives in Bangkok, she demands that he find and kill the men responsible for Billy's death. Julian refuses, believing Choi was justified in avenging the death of his daughter, infuriating Crystal. After having Choi killed, Crystal learns of Chang's involvement and meets with Byron, a rival drug dealer. She offers to cut him into her drug dealing operation if he will put out a hit on Chang.

The police arrive at Julian's club investigating Choi's murder, but Chang concludes that Julian is not the killer. Julian recognises Chang from his visions and follows him from the boxing club, but Chang seems to disappear into thin air before Julian can catch up to him. That evening, Julian brings Mai to meet Crystal, posing as his girlfriend. Crystal sees through the ruse, insulting Mai and demeaning Julian, pronouncing him to be sexually inferior to his dead brother. Julian is passive to Crystal's verbal abuse, but his aggravation results in him viciously humiliating Mai afterwards, by making her remove her dress on the way home from the restaurant.

Two gunmen on motorbikes are sent to kill Chang at a restaurant, which results in several customers and a couple of Chang's men being killed in the ensuing shoot-out. Chang kills one of the assassins, and pursues and apprehends the other. The surviving gunman leads Chang to his boss, Li Po, who has resorted to arranging assassination contracts as a means of providing for his disabled son. Chang then kills the gunman but spares Li Po after seeing his affection for his son. Chang finds Byron in a club and tortures him to reveal who ordered the hit.

Julian confronts Chang and challenges him to a fight at Julian's boxing venue. Chang, an experienced boxer, quickly beats Julian, who does not land a single blow. Afterwards, Crystal tells Julian that Chang has figured out she ordered the hits. Fearful for her life, she pleads with Julian to kill Chang, the same way she asked Julian to kill his own father for her. She promises that after Julian kills Chang, they will go back home, and she will be a true mother to him. With his associate Charlie Ling, Julian infiltrates Chang's home after shooting Chang's guard dead, intent on ambushing Chang when he returns. Charlie informs Julian that Crystal instructed him to execute Chang's entire family. Charlie murders the nanny of Chang's daughter as she enters the home, but Julian kills Charlie before he can murder Chang's daughter.

Chang and a police officer find Crystal in the hotel where she is staying. She explains how Julian killed his father with his bare hands, asserting to Chang that Julian is violent and deranged, blaming him for the violent crimes committed in the family's name. Chang decides to punish her by cutting her throat. Later, Julian returns to the hotel and finds his mother's corpse. In silence, he approaches her body and cuts open her abdomen before placing his hand inside of the wound.

Julian is last seen standing in a field with Chang, who appears to cut off both of Julian's hands with his sword.

Cast
  • Ryan Gosling as Julian Thompson, an American who lives in Bangkok and "is a respected figure in the criminal underworld" according to a production synopsis.[10] Gosling was in negotiations to star in the film in June 2011 after Luke Evans dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.[11] Gosling had undertaken Muay Thai training in preparation for the role by that September,[12] which included 2–3 hour daily sessions.[13] Refn also participated in the training.[13] Gosling and Refn had recently worked together on the neo-noir crime drama Drive (2011). Julian only speaks 17 lines throughout the film.[14] The idea for Julian to stick his hand into his dead mother's womb came from Gosling himself.[15]
  • Kristin Scott Thomas as Crystal Thompson, Julian's mother, who is described as "a merciless and terrifying mafia godmother" combining elements of Lady Macbeth and Donatella Versace.[10][16] Scott Thomas was cast by May 2011.[17]
  • Vithaya Pansringarm as Lt. Chang/"The Angel of Vengeance", a man that believes himself to be God "[i]n the sense that God in the Old Testament is saying 'I can be cruel, you have to fear me' as 'I can be kind, you have to love me.'"[18] Pansringarm did his own Thai boxing and singing for his role. Refn stated in an interview: "The character of One Eye went into Driver then went into the Thai police lieutenant. They're the same character played by three different actors [...] a mythological creature that has a mysterious past but cannot relate to reality because he's heightened and he's pure fetish."[19]
  • Gordon Brown as Gordon, Julian and Billy's lieutenant. Brown earlier played a walk-on role in Refn's Bronson and a supporting part in Valhalla Rising.
  • Rhatha Phongam (Yaya-Ying)[20] as Mai, a prostitute associated with Julian
  • Tom Burke[21] as Billy Thompson, Julian's older brother
  • Byron Gibson as Byron
  • Danai Thiengdham as Li Po
  • Sahajak Boonthanakit as Pol Col. Kim
  • Nophand Boonyai as Charlie
  • Teerawat Mulvilai as Ko Sam
  • Kovit Wattanakul as Choi Yan Lee
  • Wittchuta Watjanarat as Ma Fong

Production

Refn has said that "[f]rom the beginning, [he] had the idea of a thriller produced as a western, all in the Far East, and with a modern cowboy hero."[3] He originally planned to direct Only God Forgives directly after Valhalla Rising (2009), but he accepted Gosling's request to direct Drive instead.[22] Gosling has described the script of Only God Forgives as "the strangest thing I've ever read and it's only going to get stranger."[12] Like Drive, the film was largely shot chronologically and scenes were often edited the day they were shot.[3]

Footage was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[23] Refn drew a connection between Only God Forgives and Drive, saying that "[Only God Forgives] is very much a continuation of that language"—"[i]t's based on real emotions, but set in a heightened reality. It's a fairy tale."[22]

Reception

The film received a very divided response at its Cannes press screening; it was booed by many of the audience of journalists and critics while also receiving a standing ovation.[16][24] It received a polarized response from mainstream critics: review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 41% based on reviews from 163 critics, with a weighted average of 5.15/10. The site's consensus states: "Director Refn remains as visually stylish as ever, but Only God Forgives fails to add enough narrative smarts or relatable characters to ground its beautifully filmed depravity."[25] Metacritic assigns the film a weighted average rating of 37 out of 100 based on the reviews of 39 professional critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[26]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph reflected concerns over the film in a three out of five star review. "The film's characters are non-people; the things they say to each other are non-conversations, the events they enact are non-drama," he wrote. But he praised Refn for following up his commercially successful film Drive with "...this abstruse, neon-dunked nightmare that spits in the face of coherence and flicks at the earlobes of good taste".[27]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it five out of five stars, calling it gripping and praising the "pure formal brilliance" of every scene and frame, though he notes that it will "have people running for the exits, and running for the hills" with its extreme violence.[28] In an alternative review published in The Guardian, John Patterson was highly critical of the film, citing its lack of originality and the low degree of focus on plot: "Somewhere in here is a story that Refn can hardly be bothered to tell... I feel the ghosts of other movies—his influences, his inspirations—crowding in on his own work, suffocating him, and somehow leaving less of him on screen."[8]

Bill Gibron of PopMatters wrote "David Lynch must be laughing. If he had created something like Only God Forgives, substituting his own quirky casting for the rather staid choices made by actual director Nicolas Winding Refn, he would have walked away from Cannes 2013 with yet another Palme d'Or, another notch in his already sizeable artistic belt, and the kind of critical appreciation that only comes when a proven auteur once again establishes his creative credentials."[29]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave this film a positive review, giving it three and a half stars saying: "Refn's follow-up effort to the similarly polarizing Drive (which I thought was flat-out great) is even more stylized and daring. Drive star Ryan Gosling (who is clearly interested in carving out a career with at least as many bold, indie-type roles as commercial, leading-man fare) strikes a Brando pose playing Julian, a smoldering, seemingly lethal American who navigates the seediest sides of Bangkok."[30]

In 2015, the film was included in The Guardian's top 50 films of the decade so far.[31]

Awards

The film won the Grand Prize at the Sydney Film Festival.[32]

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References
  1. "ONLY GOD FORGIVES (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  2. Debruge, Peter (22 May 2013). "Only God Forgives". Variety. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. Jagernauth, Kevin (30 March 2012). "Nicolas Winding Refn Talks Making Only God Forgives & Considers Tokyo Setting For Horror I Walk With The Dead". The Playlist. IndieWire. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  4. Only God Forgives at Box Office Mojo Retrieved 24 February 2018
  5. Buchanan, Jason. "Only God Forgives". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  6. "Hard Drive". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  7. Lim, Dennis (22 May 2011). "Cannes Q. and A.: Driving in a Noir L.A." The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  8. Patterson, John (27 July 2013). "Only God Forgives this level of tedium". The Guardian. Kings Place. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  9. "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. Goldberg, Matt (2 November 2011). "First Synopsis for Nicolas Winding Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling". Collider.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  11. Fischer, Russ (23 June 2011). "Ryan Gosling Joining Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives [Updated]". /Film. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  12. Otto, Jeff (26 September 2011). "Ryan Gosling Calls Upcoming Project Only God Forgives The "Strangest Thing" He's Ever Read". The Playlist. IndieWire. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  13. Mackey, Michael (27 January 2012). "Ryan Gosling Responds to Oscar Snub; Reveals Details of Project Filming in Bangkok". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  14. Patches, Matt (22 May 2013). "Cannes: Ryan Gosling Only Has 17 Lines in the Bloody Only God Forgives". hollywood.com. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  15. Arbeiter, Michael (19 July 2013). "The Mysterious Bromance of Ryan Gosling and His Only God Forgives Director Nicolas Winding Refn". hollywood.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  16. "Cannes jeers Gosling's film Only God Forgives". The Local. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  17. Fischer, Russ (2 May 2011). "Nicolas Winding Refn Casts Luke Evans and Kristin Scott-Thomas in Thai Western Only God Forgives". /Film. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  18. Umstead, Ben (17 July 2013). "'Ask Not What Art Is, But What It Is Not': Nicolas Winding Refn And Cliff Martinez On ONLY GOD FORGIVES". Twitch. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  19. Barlow, Helen (18 July 2013). "Only God Forgives: Nicolas Winding Refn interview". sbs.com.au. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  20. Dang, Simon (11 May 2011). "Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives Adds Vithaya Pansringarm And Pop-Star Yaya Ying". The Playlist. IndieWire. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  21. Labrecque, Jeff (1 March 2012). "Ryan Gosling's Thailand gangster film goes to Radius-TWC". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  22. Sullivan, Kevin P. (15 June 2012). "Only God Forgives Will Share The 'Language' Of Drive". MTV Movies Blog. MTV.com. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  23. Sullivan, Kevin P. (25 May 2012). "Ryan Gosling's Only God Forgives Debuts Footage At Cannes". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  24. "Ryan Gosling film Only God Forgives divides Cannes critics". BBC News. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  25. "Only God Forgives (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  26. "Only God Forgives Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  27. Collin, Robbie (22 May 2013). "Cannes 2013: Only God Forgives, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  28. Bradshaw, Peter (22 May 2013). "Cannes 2013: Only God Forgives – first look review". The Guardian. Kings Place. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  29. Gibron, Bill (19 July 2013). "Only God Forgives, Not this Fascinating Film's Director". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  30. Roeper, Richard (18 July 2013). "Every bloody moment demands attention in Only God Forgives". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  31. Bradshaw, Peter (5 January 2015). "Peter Bradshaw's top 50 films of the demi-decade". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  32. Bulbeck, Pip (18 June 2013). "Ryan Gosling Starrer Only God Forgives Wins Sydney Film Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
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