Monday, April 13, 2015

Lost River

First of all let me state right up front that I get it; Ryan Gosling is this dreamy nice guy that everyone in both Hollywood and the real world absolutely loves. So naturally people will flock to everything he does even if it means they're just watching him eat a sandwich in a glass box for 3 1/2 hours; similar to what people do for that clown "magician" David Blaine. But this is also why you see critics trying their absolute best to remain somewhat nice to him when reviewing his directorial debut Lost River.

Well I could care less about that scrub mainly because I've never met him and because he made me suffer through Murder by Numbers with Michael Pitt and Sandra Bullock right when she was entering her early cougar phase. And for the record, yes I'd still hit that today.

I actually do like Gosling simply for the fact that he reminds me of a white Billy Dee Williams (something I've said repeatedly on this site before); I just think he's way overrated. He always plays the same character; the reserved and multi-layered loner who's way too cool for anyone to ever fully understand. So I was actually quite happy to hear that he was taking a quick break from the norm to pursue his dream of being the next Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives), and I have to say that for the most part, he's well on his way to achieving this.

Lost River is an alluring mess of a movie that at times shows quite a bit of promise. Thankfully he focuses more on the visuals as opposed to long pointless monologues to set the tone for this dark mythical world he's created. But having said that, there are still quite a few scenes that drag on for what seems like hours.

In this world a single mother of two named Billy (Christina Hendricks) is forced to take an odd job in this dark underground nightclub in order to save her house. Her and her family live in a town that's basically being deserted as it's surrounded by cities that were flooded on purpose to create reservoirs. No one can find work so they are forced to leave their homes in hopes of finding a better life elsewhere. Those who choose to stay find themselves under the control of evil sociopaths.

Billy's oldest son Bones befriends his neighbor Rat (Saoirse Ronan) who clues him in on the history of the town and it's surrounding area; and in the process she also makes him aware of the curse that's been put on the town. But Billy has his own issues to deal with as he has upset the town's most dangerous sociopath in Bully. In an attempt to survive by any means necessary, he has stepped on to Bully's territory and Bully is not known for his patience or understanding.

In this movie Gosling shows you a place where violence is celebrated and fire and destruction are on display almost everyday. There's also a weird sex chamber that I am far too sheltered to truly understand the functionality of but even I know that it's not the best way to make money. And there are random song and dance numbers and even more random funny scenes involving country black people. It's almost as if Gosling met one for the first time at a BBQ joint here in Texas, fell in love with them, and decided to put them on display; similar to a kid taking his first ever Kendrick Lamar cd to show and tell.

Actually the more I think about this movie, the more I like it. Don't get me wrong, it's an artsy film at the highest level and at times it's pretty boring but it's like I said earlier, there are quite a few beautiful shots in it and you are introduced to a pretty dark and depressing world; so if that's your thing, you should definitely check it out. If not, then I suggest you stay far away. I rate this movie as barely FRESH as I want to be the black Ryan Gosling!


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