Nicolas Winding Refn is very meticulous at the framing and length of each shot. It's slow, bordering on laborious at times, yet also strangely captivating. The cinematography is excellent throughout. Early on the film is flooded with garish reds: symbolic of passion, anger, danger, and death (all evident from the outset) while there's a grace to each shot - slow moving but deliberate - and it works to ensnare us into the setting.
The story is paper thin, but there's surprisingly more going on in the characterisation than some might give it credit for. Ryan Gosling bottles up his emotions, Kristin Scott Thomas has no filter, and Vithaya Pansringarm is calm and remorseless in equal measure - and the source of most of the film's graphic violence that's destined to test some viewers' limits.
Overall, it's easy to see why some might not have the patience for this, but also understandable why some find it another treat from Refn. The score from Cliff Martinez is outstanding in its variation, synced perfectly to the imagery on screen, while the characters are just interesting enough to keep you engaged within its moody, shallow, revenge-fuelled storyline.
7/10.
The story is paper thin, but there's surprisingly more going on in the characterisation than some might give it credit for. Ryan Gosling bottles up his emotions, Kristin Scott Thomas has no filter, and Vithaya Pansringarm is calm and remorseless in equal measure - and the source of most of the film's graphic violence that's destined to test some viewers' limits.
Overall, it's easy to see why some might not have the patience for this, but also understandable why some find it another treat from Refn. The score from Cliff Martinez is outstanding in its variation, synced perfectly to the imagery on screen, while the characters are just interesting enough to keep you engaged within its moody, shallow, revenge-fuelled storyline.
7/10.