After the reviews, I didn't really have high expectations for Only God Forgives. I expected to be either mixed or like it to a small degree like I did with Malick's To The Wonder (another film that also got very mixed-to-negative notices). To my surprise, it's a truly abysmal film. I loved Drive back in 2011, and even though rewatches have lessened it in my view, it still remains a fine film. Very aesthetically-pleasing, but also has a simple, strong story that intrigues you all the way to the end. OGF doesn't have any of this. Oh sure, the lighting makes everything look pretty, but even at a visual level the film doesn't do anything interesting stylistically. Several slow-motion shots coupled together with ambient music.
Look, I'm all up for a slow-paced, meditative, hypnotizing film (I'm a fan of David Lynch and Terrence Malick for god's sake!) but Only God Forgives is one of the worst films I've seen in quite some time simply because it's bad AND it reeks of pretension. All of the actors look like they're doing parodies, only Thomas makes her scenes somewhat interesting and there's greatness to be found in her small, limited performance. But there's just no way around it. I even wondered whether the film would hit the "it's so bad it's good to laugh" category, but since it's as dull as watching paint dry, it'll be hard to even pop in this sucker to laugh at. This is a creatively shallow, dull, unimaginative, self-important mess of a film.
