Lost River is a 2015 drama/fantasy film written and directed by actor Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Notebook). This is Gosling's first attempt at directing and it sees him telling a story of family, love and dark secrets. Lost River stars Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Iain De Caestecker (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and tells the story of a mother trying to save her family while her son attempts to discover a whole new world in the town of Lost River.
First off, the acting in the film is really good, I liked how they casted actors known more for their TV work instead of film and all 3 main actors played characters way different than their famous TV roles. It's nice to see Christina Hendricks getting movie roles because she was great on Mad Men and I definitely wanna see more of her. Matt Smith really impressed me, I don't watch Doctor Who but I've seen clips of him from it and in Lost River he plays a maniacal character so well that I hope he takes more villainous roles in the future.
Gosling's directorial style is complicated. Being his first film, Lost River is kind of all over the place. While it definitely has a unique visual style it obviously borrows elements from guys like David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn with a dash of older-Tim Burton in there for good measure.
Lost River is weird, no other way to put it but, it's also ambitious. Gosling is in an interesting position as his star power is big enough to have people interested in a film he directs solely because of his name, hell that a why I checked Lost River out in the first place. What he can try to do is use his name to draw in an audience and at the same time create these artsy, indie-type movies that see crossover success. Gosling definitely has a directorial eye and there are many flashes of promise throughout this film that show that he has a bright future ahead of him behind the camera but those flashes alone aren't enough to hold Lost River up on its own. It's a solid film, not great, nor is it bad, it's just kind of there. I wouldn't recommend it to the average moviegoer but any movie buff or fan of indie and more artsy films will definitely find some enjoyment in this.
Rewatchability: 2/5, if a friend really wanted to watch it I'd watch it with them but outside of that I don't see myself rewatching it.
Rating: 3/5, as stated earlier, it's a decent film with flashes of promise, a weak plot but good acting. The film as a whole is okay but it gives you enough to interest you and intrigue you on what Ryan Gosling will direct next and hopefully begin to mold his own unique style of filmmaking.
No comments:
Post a Comment