Only God Forgives

I don't know that I've ever watched a more beautiful but empty film than Nicolas Winding Refn's 2013 thriller Only God Forgives which throughout every immaculately staged shot and beautifully lit scene feels like marionettes dragged around the screen by a director who refuses to let his actors, or their characters, have any agency of their own.

There's not so much story here as a series of events involving a Bangkok crime family following the death of one of their own. While the merciless mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) seeks revenge for the death of her prized son (Tom Burke), his brother Julian (Ryan Gosling), knowing the full facts, sees the events as karmic and is willing to let things lie until he is pulled deeper into a death spiral of revenge and survival.

Added to the mix are fantastical elements involving a local police officer (Vithaya Pansringarm) with some kind of divine purpose and mystical power who haunts Julian in his search for brutal old world justice. Despite being gorgeous, the film is hindered by some weak dialogue and a threadbare plot that ultimately has nowhere to go.

• Title: Only God Forgives
• IMDb: link