Lost River (2014) User Reviews

Surprisingly good

[derbo73 · 7/10 · 22 November 2015]

Beware, this movie is quite dark and disturbing. It has a certain Terry Gilliam feel about it, although it goes deeper and touches the dark bottom of your soul. It is beautifully shot, has a constant subtle tension and very good music. Although the story is rather predictable it reminded me of the greatest epic tales of mankind.

Very rich and creative debut. Good actors and superb camera work, settings and effects.

The movie feels like a true nightmare sometimes, don't be fooled, though - it is not a classical horror movie or thriller. It is more like a dark dream put onto celluloid. You see lots of blood and some violence, still it will not work for typical fans of guts and gore movies.

Real cinema.

Very disturbing and sometimes hard to decipher but masterfully acted

[Garcwrites · 6/10 · 15 April 2015]

Ryan Gosling's first rodeo at the Writer/Director's chair was something. The dramatic mystery-fantasy ride that Gosling is taking us on is enchanting but also disturbing.

Lost River first looks like a documentary or an old film but it gets weird real fast. The documentary aspect of it comes from the debt crisis theme the movie has, people choking with debts leaving their homes, deserted neighborhoods and ghost towns but the film goes from a very grounded theme into a phantasmagorical world filled with disturbing dark metaphors with violent and/or dodgy characters.

The music is hypnotic and fits the surrealism atmosphere of the film but it gets annoying real fast. Although it mostly fits the movie, there's almost too much of it, the music is not really helping in the cinematic experience of Lost River.

No matter how you may feel about the movie you can't deny that it's beautifully acted. Ryan Gosling knows how to pick his cast but the one I was most surprised about, was Iain De Caestecker, whose presence and performance was electric. Iain is impressive, from the second he appears on screen everything you need to know about his character is there, you can read it on his face, his attitude and hear it in his voice. He held his own next to Hendricks and Ronan, as it turns out he is incredibly talented.

I know Lost River must be - is - a metaphor but god I need help to figure it out. I may not be doing enough drugs to understand that film or I haven't experience enough of life but it was difficult for me to decipher. A short version of the film would have been fine, great even, but a full feature film, wow that's something.

Lost River is an experience, like any ride in an amusement park it will leave its mark but it doesn't mean that you'll enjoy it. @wornoutspines

Beautifully Twisted

[colleen-wuertz · 7/10 · 12 February 2016]

My interest in this film was piqued from the moment I saw the teaser trailer, though admittedly there wasn't much to the trailer. Unfortunately, it took me a few years to get around to finally watch it.

I've always been curious to see how actors shape up when they decide to venture into other areas of the industry like writing or directing, and I was pleasantly surprised with Ryan Gosling's debut. I wasn't ready for the journey that I was about to embark on into a world rooted in both reality and fantasy. Going into this experience I already knew about the mixed reviews but I'm always willing to give a film a chance before I arrive at a verdict myself.

Single mom Billy, struggles to keep possession of her family home nestled along a street sparsely populated by dilapidated homes. Her teenage son Bones tries to support her and his younger brother Frankie by scavenging and selling copper from abandoned buildings while trying to evade Bully, the resident psychopath. After a few run ins with Bully, Bones finds himself in a mess of trouble he isn't sure how to get out of. Soon after his run-in with Bully, Bones begins to spend time with the girl next door, Rat, who tells him of a curse that has been cast on the town of Lost River. In an attempt to pay off her debt, Billy takes a job at the recommendation of her banker Dave at an eccentric, underground club and from here the story is propelled into madness.

I won't go into the film much further, but each minute I felt like I was falling deeper into this fairytale world as the story unraveled. I particularly fell in love with the cinematography; the abandoned buildings, the city lights, the decay, they all lent to the overall tone of the film. It's alluring and dark. The music is haunting as well, with Saoirse Ronan lending her vocals to one of the songs earlier in the film. I think what particularly drew me in was the simplicity; this is a film that makes you think and can confuse you at times, and from what I've read that's one of the main things people detest about it. I like the idea of watching a film multiple times and picking up new themes or meanings with each watch, it's clever.

At times I wondered if there was a point to all of the weirdness and chaos I was watching, but this is one of those films you can't think about too much. I commend Ryan Gosling for taking a vision he had after visiting Detroit and turning it into something he was proud to put his name on. He cast people he respected and admired, and at times he let the actors and the environment take control. I'd like to see more actors, writers, and directors stand behind a vision they believe in even if they know it might not help them earn the most money or acclaim. I seem to take well to films critics hate, but of course everything is just a matter of opinion when you really think about it.

The Verdict: I give this a 7/10. My advice would be to give the film a shot, you're either going to love it or be completely frustrated and confused by it.

Honestly, this is for those looking for something artistic

[Baileycrider2016 · 7/10 · 7 May 2015]

Id hate to compare Gosling to Refn, because in reality their styles in film making are completely different. This being said, I found Lost River very pleasing for that reason. Gosling's debut is worth watching. If you have immersed yourself in categories of film such as Lost River, you'll love it. However, if you haven't seen many movies like this one, I recommend finding a title related to this one with a higher rating and (maybe) higher commercialization. Afterwards, come back and appreciate what Gosling has to offer because every frame is shot with care. He is an actor/director who cares and there isn't a whole lot of that these days.

Really wanted to enjoy this film.

[nceguypaul · 5/10 · 27 April 2015]

Watched the trailer and was mesmerized by some of the imagery that Ryan Gosling has managed to capture.

Then I watched the film itself.

It felt like i was watching the extended version of the trailer, small snippets of dialogue surrounded by vast dreamlike imagery but with no actual story to go with it.

This film isn't bad its just that it's not very good either. I felt like i was left wanting a little bit more, that it hadn't really fulfilled my appetite.

That said there is potential and because Gosling is just so damned cool I will be looking forward to the next step (Fan boy mode deactivated).

Flawed, but deeply visceral and penetrating

[Red_Identity · 8 April 2015]

It's not often that I am truly perplexed by a film's critical reception. The critical blasting this has gotten truly... perplexes me. I get it, it's not for everyone, but neither is The Tree of Life, or Under The Skin, or even Drive, or countless of other films that managed to get embraced well- enough by many critics, if not most. Sure, the screenplay here needed some work. Sure, it doesn't really seem tightly-woven and it doesn't have any real forward action that seems to be driving the plot. But so what? As a mood piece, this makes the perfect midnight movie. It's visually outstanding, able to capture certain colors and images that I haven't even seen Gosling's good friend Nicolas Winding Refn capture. And yes, this film seems to be heavily influenced by him. I hated Only God Forgives because I found it boring, nonsensical, and totally pretentious, with not an ounce of honest artistry. I found Bronson to be sort of entertaining, but also full of itself. I did like Drive though.

Gosling really shows a certain directorial skill here, even if it's really borrowing from Refn's same style. And unlike Refn's last film, despite how "airy" the screenplay is, the film manages to capture a true emotional core. I actually cared about the three lead characters and felt like I was on this ride with them. The film's deeply ambitious, but it also doesn't feel ponderous or pretentious. I felt like it truly touched on something special that, despite how flawed it is, really made it work. It's somewhat messy, somewhat clumsy, yet I thought it was able to rise above that and work as an actual film, and not just great individual scenes without anything holding them together. Hendricks, De Caestecker, and Ronan are really strong as well and all three manage to hit the perfect pitch for the type of film Gosling wanted to make.

So, what can I say? It's going to be really tough seeing the film get as much hate throughout the year, but I hope it's able to get at least a few more fans and I hope Gosling isn't discouraged from making another film because if he was able to touch the notes that he did here despite all of the flaws, he could very well make a masterpiece soon enough. I can't wait to rewatch this.

Not Bad for Gosling's Directorial Debut

[leedesi56 · 7/10 · 10 October 2015]

As a freshman director, Ryan Gosling shows promise here. This is a quirky, Art-house film (of which there aren't enough, lately) with Lynchian elements (Blue Velvet; Lost Highway) Some of them work, others don't ("Dave" singing "Cool Water" was a bit silly).Casting was OK, with solid performances from Iain De Caestecker,Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, and the beautiful Eva Longoria in particular. Landyn Stewart is adorable! Where did they get this kid? Matt Smith's performance was appropriately over-the-top, and scary. Overall, I'd recommend 'Lost River,' because it consistently held my interest, and had a great story-line. I look forward to more Gosling-directed efforts, as I see great potential there. I'm rating it a little higher than the average, because I'd really urge people to see it, and, as I said earlier, there should be more movies in this peculiar genre.

Beautiful to look at. Thats about it.

[Discogodfather9622 · 5/10 · 12 May 2015]

Warner Brothers is one of the best movie studios in the business. Putting out controversial movies such as, A Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers & One Eight Seven, it's clear that this is a studio that likes to takes risks with films. They prove it yet again with the directorial debut of Hollywood heartthrob, Ryan Gosling's art house flick, Lost River. I'll start by saying this about the film; it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Gosling has an eye for camera placement and style, taking a page out of the David Lynch School of directing. Unfortunately that's where the praise stops, as this is one boring and rather pointless movie. The story centers on a single mom played by Christina Hendricks, (Mad Men) who lives in a virtually abandoned city of Lost River, with her two kids, one of which has run afoul of the local gangster played by Matt Smith. (Dr. Who) A Gangster so mean that it's widely know throughout the community his love for cutting off peoples lips who cross him. In the end it's clear that Gosling wants to shed his pretty boy persona and come across as more intellectual and thoughtful. Hopefully the next time he decides to get behind the camera he has a better script to film.

Amazing directorial debut from Ryan Gosling, but not for everyone.

[JayShermanStinksYoooooo1920 · 8/10 · 8 April 2015]

Most famous actors rely heavily on the production team during their directorial debuts and aren't very involved in the directing process. Last year, Angelina Jolie truly proved this with her movie Unbroken (actually her second film as a director though). A high budget WW2 film that Jolie clearly didn't put much effort into. It feels like the whole idea was just given to her when she called her agent and stated that she would like to direct a new movie. It is also not uncommon to see actors casting themselves in their directorial debuts, such as Zach Braff in Garden State. Lost River, is the weirdest directorial debut you'll ever see from an actor.

I've always liked Ryan Gosling. He picks his movies carefully and works great with "different" directors like Nicolas Winding Refn and Derek Cianfrance. Lost River is probably the strangest film in recent years. It is hard to explain what it is about so I'm not going to talk about that in this review.

The movie is very similar to most David Lynch films, especially Mulholland Drive. Therefore, one of the best things about Lost River is actually the cinematography, it helps to create the mysterious experience. I'm a very big fan of thrillers which don't explain everything to the viewer, but I know most people aren't. And that's why many will dislike this movie for what it is. With that being said, if you hate to re-watch films and want simple story lines, Lost River is not what you should be watching.

I really appreciate all the effort Ryan Gosling has put into this movie. It is risky to make a film like Lost River these days, and I'm glad Gosling was willing to take that risk to show his trademark. It is notable that he actually made the movie himself and didn't rely on the producers. Fans of David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn and David Cronenberg will surely have a good time with Lost River. I'm looking forward to Gosling's next feature, and can't wait to re-watch this film.

Deserves 7. something, currently less than that due to teeny bopper Gosling fans

[illinoisbrah99 · 7/10 · 26 November 2015]

The reviews for this film have really been skewed, I would imagine due to people viewing this film expecting it to be something that it's not. If you're viewing the film for Ryan Gosling, turn back now. There isn't a standout handsome male lead in this film.

If you're viewing this in order to enjoy a surreal film with wonderful cinematography then proceed. The cinematography really stands out here. The plot is interesting, although I didn't understand it 100% (these are my favorite type of movies). There seem to be homages to some of Ryan Gosling's recent films which I find pretty cool.

Enjoy!

Almost interesting. The photography was okay.

[ledryno · 3/10 · 8 April 2015]

The plot seems centered around a mom with two kids trying to hold on to their home in a virtually deserted part of town. She's months behind in mortgage payments. She takes a job at this weird club to earn money to pay the mortgage. Everything else in the movie seems designed to complement that idea: her oldest son scavenges copper from abandoned homes for money to buy car parts so he can fix his car and leave for who knows where; a neighbor girl who speaks of a curse on the city that can only be undone by dredging up something from part of the city under water; a vicious hoodlum type that thinks he's lord and master over this deserted part of town. These elements ARE connected but not very well.

I got from the main characters a sense of helplessness, a sense of hopelessness and desperation. It wasn't spectacular but there was some interesting photography.

By the end I was scratching my head wondering how to makes sense of what I saw. I'm not sure it makes sense.

Each scene is like a painting

[emilyart · 10/10 · 20 June 2015]

I really wasn't sure about this to start with, but I rented it, so I stuck with it to get my £3.99 worth. I am so glad I did. The pace is slow to begin with, and it's hard to like any of the characters in the beginning. But as it unfolds you become intrigued by the relationships the characters have, and you see a part of yourself in each of them, even if their plight is so different from ones own. The thing I found so amazing about it was that every single shot was so well considered- the composition and colour. It is reminiscent of David Lynch in places, showing the darkness of human nature in such a beautifully shot way. It really was like a moving painting. This film should not be compared to other films of this genre. The film making was very mature and considered, and I truly view this as a work of art. I liked how in parts, the acting was very raw, like watching a documentary rather than a 'movie'. And I am not sure what it has left me with- Sometimes when I watch a film, I want to know more about the characters and what becomes of them when the credits roll. I didn't want to know more. I was content with having seen the journey they made and where we left them. I was very cynical, 'a Hollywood star steps behind the camera' - we have heard it before. But if this was his debut film as a director, then I think there are amazing things to follow and he should stay behind the camera.

Watch before going to bed

[citruscircus · 6/10 · 4 May 2015]

The characters managed to slightly capture my interest. And their story, eh. I stayed mostly because of how pretty it was and the vibe. This is something I'd recommend watching before going to bed. The atmosphere is dark with some really beautiful shots, a little qrotesque in parts, quiet, the whole vibe feels like a dream. And sometimes it wakes you up with things that feel too lively to be in the dream. There's not much of a point or interesting story to it when you compare it to the mainstream norm. Which helps it feel more like a dream, which was what Gosling said he was going for. Overall, I thought it was OK, I really appreciated the beautiful visuals, the mystical feeling it tries to convey. I'd say it's worth a watch if you've got nothing else to do, or if you're into artsy imagery with a plot that, likely, you'll be uninterested in because this is definitely not the average Joe's cup of tea. If you're into art, you might just love this.

Very Weird, Very Dark, Not Very Good

[cuthbertjoel · 2/10 · 30 April 2015]

First let me say, I love Ryan Gosling. I think he's one of the best actor's going around today and his name on this film is pretty much the only reason I gave it a try.

Unfortunately, for me, this hasn't worked. It seems that Ryan was so intent on stepping out of his comfort zone that he's leaped into the dream of someone on hard illicit drugs. I guess he wanted to enter the directorial world with a bang and really stamp some of his personality onto the film. He is obviously heavily influenced by directors he has worked with in the past. The problem is, in making it quirky, artsy, original, whatever you want to call it, the film has just been lost.

The film consists of three stories that tenuously connect to each other, but none of which are particularly interesting. The mom is behind on mortgage payments, so she takes a job at some weird fetish club. The son steals metal to try and get some money, meanwhile finding a road that goes into the town reservoir. And Saoirse Ronan lives nearby with a grandmother who doesn't talk. I know that synopsis sounds like it was written by an infant, but to be honest, I still don't know what the hell the film is about! Slight positives were Saoirse Ronan putting in a decent performance, and some of the cinematography did work. However, for Gosling to really get amongst the elites of the directing world, he needs to concentrate on the film being good first. It's fine to have your own style, all good directors do. But ensure the film has the subject matter on a basic level to captivate an audience before worrying about little idiosyncrasies you can include to make it your own.

Entertaining, but flawed

[evan-gambles19 · 6/10 · 8 May 2015]

I just want to say, that I really enjoyed this movie, so much so that I even bought it on blu-ray, and with that being said, this film suffers from a lot of problems, all of which come from the script. Lost River is the directorial debut of Ryan Gosling, who also wrote this. I do think, as a director, he has a very bright future, because his directing was great in Lost River, but I can't say that his future as a writer is a bright. Sadly, what really holds Lost River back is Gosling's script, and the large number of holes in it, and it doesn't help that it can be incoherent in some moments. Let me give a least one example, without spoiling, to prove my point? How does Bully (the antagonist) know Bone's (the protagonist) name, and that he was stealing copper in Bully's territory? It's things like that at are scattered, not only through the movie, but usually in every scene. At this point, you may be asking, why buy it on blu-ray than? Once reason, the cinematography. Lost River might be the most beautiful, and well-shot film of 2015, and its use of film of digital shows. I feel like it's worth mentioning that in Lost River, Billy (Christina Hendricks) spends a lot of the run-time in a surreal nightclub that she works with, and every scene in the club, felt way to similar to the scenes in the apartment in Blue Velvet, which was the first, of many, things I noticed about this that felt like a large homage to David Lynch. In fact, I feel like Lost River (at times) is a large homage to directors that Gosling has either worked with, inspired by, or both, like Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refen, Guillermo del Toro (who oddly enough earned a special thanks in the credits), Gaspar Noe, and Derek Cianfrance, just to name a few. While I may recommend Lost River, i feel like it's the type of film to turn on when you're watching something with a group of friends, who are going to talk through, because this isn't something to watch for the story, but for the visuals.

I only made it through a half hour

[dave355 · 1/10 · 17 May 2015]

I only made it through about a half hour of Lost River, before I gave up. In that time, there was no discernible storyline, and there were no sympathetic characters. The closest thing to good guys were the old men who kept saying, "get out of here while you still can!"

They made some pretty pictures by dialing up the color saturation to unnatural levels, but extra-bright greens couldn't hold my interest for a whole movie. There's a weird contrast between the very dark tone of (the first half hour of) the movie, and the extra-bright green outdoor scenery, but I don't know what the point was.

I can't understand how this thing got a 5.9 IMDb rating. I found it incredibly boring. Maybe it gets better, eventually, but I didn't have the patience to find out.

A bit weird

[jorgenboy · 6/10 · 13 April 2015]

I really wanted to love this movie and add it to my top 20 movies even and I did throughout the first three quarters of it but after that I wasn't sure where it was going after that. I don't often write reviews so I'm sorry if this is pretty badly written. What attracted me to watch this movie in the first place was the fact that Matt Smith was in it as well that its Ryan Gosling's first movie that he's directed, and the fact that Iain (Bones) is also in agents of shield. After watching the movie I didn't hate it but I just didn't feel satisfied. Im not really that much of critic on the actors performance but as an average bob movie viewer I would say that they did their job just fine. it's a movie you can watch and feel that awesomely interesting vibe from it, but then you wonder where the story went after the last quarter and it just leaves you sitting there thinking okay, that wasn't the greatest way to end it?. All I can say is that last quarter felt rushed and leaves the viewer not completely feeling 10/10. I'll give it a 6/10 for the potential it started off with.

Messy, Void of soul.

[ezra-strayer · 4/10 · 12 April 2015]

Lost River. Nice first try from Gosling. A bit of Malick and Refn without the soul. Gosling has some interesting ideas. He failed in putting them together neatly, which may have been on purpose. In an age of omnipresent shiny stuff to grab our attention, Goslings shiny stuff doesn't quite hold mine. Good performances. Matt smith was a surprise. Ronin steals every scene she's in. Hendricks is OK, but predictable compared to the other performances. Mendez was great. Gosling knows how to get the most out of her. Story was a kind of redneck fairy tail that seems to be trending in Goslings mind. 4th movie in a row if you start from drive, through place bt pines, to Lost River.

Very Good First Work

[EdgarST · 8/10 · 19 September 2015]

Ryan Gosling wrote and directed a fine first film, a tale about ordinary people surrounded by myth and decay, in an almost abandoned town in Michigan. However, the movie was submitted to the wrong film festival: you know, Cannes means tough competition and the French can be haughty. With the tone of an apocalyptic fable, «Lost River» would have been more appreciated in specialized events, as the fantasy film festivals celebrated in Porto, Neuchâtel, Brussels, Sitges, Málaga, Amsterdam, Gérardmer, Puchon, Austin or Buenos Aires. «Lost River» strongly belongs in those festivals and it could have been awarded with several prizes: first work by a new director, for its cinematography, screenplay, or for a couple of good performances. Handled by Warner Brothers, the company did not know what to do with this beautiful motion picture, so it considered "selling the distribution rights to another company" and finally decided to limit its exposure to on- demand exhibitions. Or simply put: it just decided to kill it. «Lost River» belongs to a special lineage of American films that portrait people and places of the United States that are often ignored or mistreated in mainstream cinema by filmmakers without any compassion or understanding of their situation: see how Alan Parker portrayed poverty in Mississippi, with a "chic touch" in the deplorable «Angel Heart». I refer to a lineage as old as King Vidor's «Street Scene», to Robert Altman's «Thieves Like Us», David Lynch's «Blue Velvet», Michael Moore's «Roger & Me», and many other independent films that came to my mind, as Harmony Korine's «Gummo», Jeff Nichols' «Mud», Daniel Patrick Carbone's «Hide Your Smiling Faces» and Kat Candler's «Hellion». As an individual of these times, Gosling was audio-visually "trained" from watching television and films since childhood, so he wrote a fragmented script, but it does have a linear Aristotelian plot with well- defined three acts, precise plot points, a satisfying resolution and well-structured characters (some are fascinanting). In the story, a single mother (Christina Hendricks) tries to keep her childhood home and her little family together (she and her two sons) in the dying town of Lost River. To do so she accepts a job offer from a bank manager (Ben Mendelsohn) in a night club literally from hell, where the main attraction (Eva Mendes) dances to "Moliendo café" as sung by Lucho Gatica, to be suddenly beaten and killed by a hoodlum, and her blood spreaded on the audience, all as part of the show. In this way the mother enters a sordid and morbid sector of society (imagine that all clients are Dennis Hoppers from «Blue Velvet» times 50, plus the naked and masked bourgeoisie of «Eyes Wide Shut»). Simultaneously her adolescent son (Iain de Caestecker) tries to help her by extracting and selling pieces of copper found in derelict buildings, which are claimed by a psychopath (Matt Smith) who controls what is left of Lost River. As he runs from the guy, the boy incidentally discovers a submerged town in a lake. His girlfriend neighbor (Saoirse Ronan) tells him that her grandmother (Barbara Steele) --who decided to remain silent when her husband died-- has predicted that the day someone brings up to the surface a fragment of anything belonging to the lost town, Lost River will be freed from a curse. Although what is being told is very violent in spirit (and overtly so in a few scenes), Gosling moved his story with a smooth and gentle pace, unfolding the tale in a calm manner, rarely unaltered, which brings me to my only objection, a factor that did alter this tone of serenity: the music score by Johnny Jewel. Not because it is bad music, but for being unnecessary in most of the cases. This is not only a problem in Gosling's film, but in almost all movies, especially in American productions. Filmmakers seem to mistrust the power of the images they create and allow composers, editors and sound crew to overemphasize what is obvious. Besides Jewel's cues are too short and have a spasmodic effect: they accentuate a phrase, an expression, an action, and then fade until the next reaction. But fortunately the film transcends this limitation. As you watch «Lost River», it is true that you may remember one or two works from Lynch or Nicolas Winding Refn, but I do not see the point of making a fuss about this, when all filmmakers, from Woody Allen to Brian De Palma, show their influences and no one complains. They are even exalted because of copying Ingmar Bergman or Alfred Hitchcock. This said, as a whole «Lost River» is a satisfying motion picture, with good performances by all: even Barbara Steele in her silent role is remarkable. Forget what some say about this movie and watch it. You will like it.

poor all round

[wayne-robb · 6/10 · 14 April 2015]

i was looking forward to this as i like the entertaining art-house(weird and wonderful) types of film. having seen the scores i thought well the sypnosis sounds great. having said this i thought the movie was truly awful,violent for no reason and b-movie standard. its got a few moments where you may think this is cool but all round its trash. it was almost like watching a stage play that had lots of storys jumbled together.definitely a downer film,nothing much for anyone to smile about! at its best moments its average.i gave it a 6 purely for the merit of gosling both directing and writing it...the visuals were well put together! the story seemed very disturbing for someone to think up and put down on paper! all in all its a turkey. i hope gosling learns from this and makes an entertaining more happier film in the future.

A fair tale worth forgetting

[MattBrady099 · 4/10 · 10 April 2015]

Focus more on story more than visuals or your movie isn't going to make any sense or even going anywhere, just stuck in it's own tracks Gosling.

The story is about a single mother is swept into a dark underworld while her son discovers an underwater town.

I was interested in Lost River every since it's first teaser trailer by it's fairy tale imagery and with the repeating words of "Look at my muscles", by Matt Smith . But after hearing the negative reviews and the fact that this movie was booed at the Cannes film festival. After seeing the movie I can see what Ryan Gosling was trying to reach but it didn't really mash well on screen and the overall result is a mess of film and I'm not here to hate on Gosling as I had hope for him and maybe he can do a better directed movie in the future.

Ryan Gosling directing in the movie was meh, and the whole time I noticed he worked on the visuals and the look of the movie which by the looks great but still I felt the focus was only on that and not the whole film, I might be wrong or not. Ryan has worked with many directors in his career with the same style but I think he really took the style and version that Nicolas Winding Refn had with Only God Forgives and I wouldn't call it a bad thing as some critics are making it out to be, it's just a actor starting directing who wants to be like another director he worked with to get the directing career started.

Matt Smith (Or Doctor from Doctor Who to those who seen the show) is also in this movie and he was actually pretty good and honestly the best part of this movie for me.

The movie itself has this fair tale dream look to it with it's visual's and I think the perfect director who would have made this movie much better is David Lynch as his movies do have a dream like look to it which would worked more in Lost River, because to be honest the movie felt like a bore at times showing pretty imagery and no weight to it which still remains forgettable.

Impressive Directorial Debut

[anteksw · 9/10 · 5 May 2015]

Straight off the bat, I am somewhat surprised about the overwhelmingly bad ratings this film received, and no, I won't go down the route of claiming that people "don't understand art". The more I explore art house, the more I realise it is all about preference - not everyone likes reading into films too much, and a particular style may not be appealing to everyone. In 'Lost River', Gosling clearly combines different styles of directors he worked with recently - I definitely recognised influences from Derek Cianfrance and Nicolas Winding Refn in terms of character interaction, cinematography and of course the gorgeously atmospheric soundtrack. Apart from being a learning curve for Ryan Gosling, 'Lost River' is an impressive directorial debut in a lot of aspects.

One of the successful aspects is the overall plot surrounding these strangely intriguing characters, including a family with somewhat typical problems and a protagonist teenager son, along with a love interest played by Saoirse Ronan (who also played the cute Agatha in 'The Grand Budapest Hotel') as well as the haunting presence of a "bully" portrayed disturbingly well by Matt Smith. There's also a side plot involving the troubled mother struggling to maintain her house and family through a dodgy job and a delusional boss. To put it straight, there is a lot happening in this film, yet, it doesn't feel at all overwhelming. It was obvious that Gosling went into this project with a lot of things he wanted to explore, however on the larger thematic scale it seems subtle, at times focusing on style over content with its beautifully composed shots accompanied by an enchanting score reminiscent of Winding Refn.

On the negative side of things, the character interaction feels slightly unrealistic at some points, and overall originality is barely visible. However, "originality" isn't entirely necessary to create an unsettling art house flick - Gosling succeeds in this and definitely deserves praise, especially being his writing and directorial debut. To conclude, 'Lost River' is a disturbingly enchanting addition to the expanding genre of art house - undeniably deserving its spot not only as an adapted experiment paying homage to great directors, but also as a successful collaboration of under-appreciated talents.

Hypnotic and dreamy movie

[nathaliegundersen · 6/10 · 10 April 2015]

I don't know why this movie received so much bad reviews from the press, movies like under the skin, fox catcher and night crawler got great reviews and i found those movies a bore , while this one was actually interesting to watch.It was something beautiful about the movie .I wouldn't see it in a cinema but late at night alone maybe.I think it could be something of a cult classic. It would be interesting to see what he can make in the future, maybe a movie with a bit more mainstream script.He put his neck out with this movie and I think he deserves some credit for that. There is so much garbage Hollywood movies now days it was just nice to see someone has actually bothered to put in some effort for once.

Great acting, terrible storyline

[cheetah_grey · 2/10 · 25 December 2020]

I don't understand how such great actors signed on to this terrible production. I am guessing they participated because it was Ryan Gosling making the request. I'm guessing they wouldn't do a 2nd project with him. What a waste of their amazing talent with this weird and nonsensical presentation. The story itself isn't bad, and I could see Stephen King making a screenplay worthy of Saoirse Ronan and Christina Hendricks. And as hateful a character as he was, probably the best acting of the movie was who played "Bully", Matt Smith.

A fine movie... and then some.

[mogweezer101 · 3 May 2015]

I haven't read all the reviews here, but I'm surprised (staggered even) that nobody has noticed the very obvious homage to Dario Argento (notably the three mothers trilogy) A town cursed by a witch - the spell being broken by the protagonist in the final reel. The inclusion of Barbara Steele is the obvious nod to Italian horror, but also the musical cue that's straight out of Suspiria which plays intermittently.

I'll admit it - for a fair old while I was thinking "Hold on, this is nothing like the plot description that piqued my initial interest." Then the film unfolds, and I'll admit at one point (around two thirds in) I was bewildered as to where the film might go - so much so that I thought it couldn't possibly tie it all up neatly.

But it does.

Go watch Argento at his finest and you have what amounts to a superbly surreal updating of the same themes.

A fine, fine, movie - and obvious labour of love.