Only God Forgives

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Only God Forgives

R

Released Jul 19, 2013

1h 30m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

168 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In Thailand, a drug trafficker's (Ryan Gosling) icy mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) sends him on a mission to avenge his older brother, who was killed for beating an underage prostitute to death.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Here's hoping Refn's next one redeems him.

Rated: D

Sep 7, 2017

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

'Only God Forgives' is a mess, an overly stylized and brutally violent mood piece with something to alienate everyone. It's also absolutely worth seeing.

Jun 19, 2016

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Only God Forgives is an extremely misunderstood film.

Rated: B-

Apr 17, 2015

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Far more sparse and metaphorical than the previous Refn and Gosling collaboration, but it's arguably much more visually lush, making for a challenging experience that showcases the filmmaker's cinematic sensibilities.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 20, 2023

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aside from Scott Thomas, whose performance is magnificently over-the-top, the actors and storyline have almost no humanity to them, serving only the film’s vague metaphor about punishment.

Rated: 1/4

Sep 1, 2022

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

While Refn may not like strong narratives, deeper characters, or good dialogue he certainly loves mood lighting, long hallways, and gaudy wallpaper.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 24, 2022

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David S

It feels like a bad movie pretending to be a good one. It’s just not a good film. The cinematography is outstanding, with a great use of colors, atmosphere, and score. However this film kinda feels repetitive, with the same shots repeating themselves. It also feels very slow and kind of boring. Some of the shots are unironically hilarious. This film really feels like it should be great, but it’s just not.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/14/24

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Matthew L

Ok. Let's start with the positives first. Of course I like Ryan Gosling. He's great. Check. Kirsten Scoot Thomas is an amazing actress. Check. Now the positives are don, heres the negatives. The script is non existent and while Gosling is a great looking guy, it would help if he spoke at least once every like 20 mins or so. The plot is bizzare and the characters are dull. The movie is so boring you should get an award for just managing to make it to the end. Please do not waste your time. If you read the ingredients on the back of a noodles packet you would get more excitement than watching this. Avoid at all costs

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/08/24

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Brendan B

No one makes movies like NWR. An audio visual treat and a cold masterpiece. Not everyones cup of tea for sure

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/30/24

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THE BANDIT T

Style over substance. Just like a lot of the directors work. The great Moody Red cinematography and soundtrack by cliff martinez cannot save this bland and boring film. C+

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/01/24

Full Review

Gorptholemew T

🍅 8.3/10 They literally use the Lego Yoda scream at 13:08. Kind of felt like a fever dream I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing. but like the cinematography is absolutely beautiful soooooo I’d say it’s definitely worth it especially with more of a 90s crime, thriller type aesthetic it makes for a great late night watch. Also, Ryan Gosling. Also, I think the arguments are pretty funny to this movie that the characters aren’t relatable dude they’re in the fucking mafia. Grade A-

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/01/24

Full Review

Victor W

Only God Forgives" is a film that left me wondering if the director was punishing the audience as much as the characters. With its minimal dialogue, glacial pacing, and bizarre symbolism, watching it felt like a slow, surreal fever dream. Ryan Gosling's performance is so stoic he might as well be a mannequin. The plot is buried under layers of neon-lit pretension. By the end, I found myself praying for forgiveness for ever pressing play.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/24/24

Full Review

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Nicolas Winding Refn

Director

Ryan Gosling

Julian

Kristin Scott Thomas

Crystal

Vithaya Pansringarm

Chang

Rhatha Phongam

Maï

Gordon Brown

Gordon

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Synopsis

In Thailand, a drug trafficker's (Ryan Gosling) icy mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) sends him on a mission to avenge his older brother, who was killed for beating an underage prostitute to death.

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Producer: Lene Børglum, Sidonie Dumas, Vincent Maraval
Screenwriter: Nicolas Winding Refn
Distributor: Radius TWC
Production Co: Nordisk Film Shortcut A/S , Film Väst, Space Rocket Nation, Bold Films, Motel Movies, DR v/Filmklubben,
Rating: R (Language|Grisly Images|Sexual Content|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 19, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $775.9K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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