5 Reasons to See Ryan Gosling’s ‘Lost River’
At some point in their careers, almost every major star decides they want to step behind the camera. Sometimes it’s a brief flirtation with directing (Eddie Murphy and Nicolas Cage, for instance, have done it once, gotten terrible reviews and never braved it again). While others, like George Clooney or Angelina Jolie, have managed to carve out successful side careers as filmmakers.
It’s too early to say in which category Ryan Gosling — whose first effort as a director, Lost River, hits select theaters today and VOD Friday — will fit. The star’s first feature premiered to brutal notices at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and now stands at a painful 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The drama follows a mother (Christina Hendricks) going to desperate measures in an economically devastated town while her son (Iain de Caestecker) befriends a misfit girl (Saoirse Ronan) and comes into conflict with a local psychopath (Matt Smith). For all the bad reviews though, the movie has a fair number of redeeming features to it. Here are 5 things that might make it worth a screening this weekend.
1. It looks beautiful
Whatever the flaws of the story are — and there are plenty — there’s no denying that Gosling has a striking eye for an image. Benoît Debe, the French cinematographer behind Enter The Void and Spring Breakers shot the film, and brings over his neon-licked feel for an interior and some Terrence Malick-esque outdoor photography that gorgeously captures a ruined world.
2. It sounds great
The film is also a pleasure for the ears. Gosling hired Johnny Jewel, whose work under pseudonyms Chromatics and Desire proved crucial to the soundscape of Gosling vehicle Drive, to write the score. Jewel’s synth-heavy work is exemplary: haunting, surprising and, with the song “Yes (Love Theme From Lost River),” has come up with one of the most unforgettably ear-wormy melodies in recent film scoring.
3. The performances are all strong
Gosling might still be finding his feet as a storyteller, but it’s no surprise, given his talents in front of the camera, that he knows how to cast a movie. Mad Men’s Hendricks is steely and vulnerable, while Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D actor De Caestecker cunningly channels his director as her son. Ronan is reliable as ever as his love interest, and former Doctor Who Smith is a fascinatingly gangly, against-type choice as antagonist Bully. But best of all is…
4. Ben Mendelsohn
Australian character actor Ben Mendelsohn broke out a few years back with crime flick Animal Kingdom, but he’s definitely having a moment in 2015: he’s the standout in Netflix series Bloodline, costarred in the Sundance breakout Mississippi Grind, and recently signed on to Star Wars spin-off Rogue One. Here, he plays sleazy bad guy Dave, and is the best thing in the movie: louche, laconic, and deeply menacing. He’s having a blast, and it’s kind of infectious, not least when he croons a Nick Cave-style cover of Hank Williams’ “Cool Water.”
5. It’s kind of fun to play ‘spot the influence’
One of the film’s biggest issues is that Gosling’s still very much in a thrall to his influences: It’s not so much a stand-alone movie as a grab bag of cool stuff that he likes. But while we’re waiting for him to develop a more distinctive voice as a filmmaker, it’s still sort of enjoyable for cinephiles to look at the movie and spot where the director’s pinching from. David Lynch’s Blue Velvet! David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr.! David Lynch in general! Horror mastermind Dario Argento! Beasts Of The Southern Wild! It’s basically a movie-nerd drinking game.
Watch the trailer:
