Only God Forgives: quick review...

What's it about?
An American drug dealer living in Bangkok is sent into the criminal underworld by his domineering mother to seek revenge for the murder of his brother. Bloody, stylish, straight-faced chaos ensues.
Who would I recognise in it?
Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Tom Burke.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
I recently posted my thoughts on Nicolas Winding Refn's latest film - The Neon Demon - and found it to be extraordinarily stylish and obsessed with obtuse symbolism, but I was disappointed by how it sought to dispense with as much plot, story, characterisation, and redemption as possible (and it was decidedly over-long at an indulgent two hours). So I figured it was time I caught up with Only God Forgives, the film that sits between TND and Refn's 2011 film Drive (a richly textured, yearning, ultra cool modern classic). Where, I wondered, would it fall on the scale between those two films...

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The Neon Demon - a quick review...

What's it about?
A delicate young girl enters the viper's nest of the Los Angeles modelling world where retirement often strikes just when you reach the legal drinking age, as sparkly dreams give way to DayGlo-coloured nightmares.
Who would I recognise in it?
Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, and others.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) seems to be striving to reach a 'post-narrative' world of his own. The plot to The Neon Demon could be written on the back of a postage stamp (surprising, then, that the screenplay was penned by three people), with the climax never really daring to push narrative boundaries. Here, style is king - and doesn't it look (and sound) good? However, strip that away and - much like your average model's lunch - there's little nourishment on offer...

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