Ryan Gosling's directorial debut 'Lost River': What did critics say?
奥丑别苍听听蹿谤辞尘 Ryan Gosling鈥檚 directorial debut听听arrived online 鈥� featuring a shaven-headed Matt Smith yelling 鈥�Look at my muscles!鈥� over shots of various things on fire 鈥� we noted that the film seemed to be aiming for a certain kind of surrealist tone that can be very tricky to pull off. Also starring Christina Hendricks (), Iain De Caestecker () and听Saoirse Ronan (),听Lost River听is about a single mother who moves to a dilapidated town with her two sons and discovers that it has a dark underbelly.
Lost River听has been met with a slew of negative reviews, and in the wake of this poor reception Warner Bros. has been trying to pass the film on to indie distributors.
Some of the reviewers were clearly trying to be kind to Gosling, excusing the film鈥檚 flaws due to the fact that it was his first project as a screenwriter and director.听听said that听Lost River听鈥�feels more like a practice run than a true first feature,鈥� while听commented that, 鈥�when a Hollywood A-lister鈥檚 first film shoots for the stars but lands on the moon, it鈥檚 still worth being grateful.鈥� Most of the other reviews, however, were less generous.
Craig Skinner,听:
鈥淔or his debut feature as director,听Ryan Gosling听has created a mixtape from his favourite films, but he鈥檚 only dubbed the stylistic influences and transferred none of what made those films interesting.听There are elements borrowed from听David Lynch, particularly from听Blue Velvet, and from听Terence Malick,听Dario Argento,Nicholas Winding Refn听and听Harmony Korine. What we have is tantamount to Gosling鈥檚 scrapbook, or an enthusiastic Instagramming session designed to show off his great taste.鈥�
Robbie Collin,听:
鈥淭he problem is, it鈥檚 like everything Ryan Gosling鈥檚 seen: David Lynch, Mario Bava, Nicolas Winding Refn, Terence Malick, Gaspar No茅 and a splash of David Cronenberg for good measure. But these filmmakers鈥� ideas and imagery aren鈥檛 developed, they鈥檙e simply reproduced: think Wikipedia essay rather than love letter. The result is cinema you don鈥檛 watch so much as absent-mindedly scroll through, wondering when an idea or an image worth clicking on will finally show up.鈥�
笔别迟别谤听叠谤补诲蝉丑补飞,听:
鈥淚t is colossally indulgent, shapeless, often fantastically and unthinkingly offensive and at all times insufferably conceited. Yet it is frustrating precisely because it sometimes isn鈥檛 so bad. There is something in there somewhere 鈥� striking images and moments, and the crazy energy of a folie de grandeur鈥�
鈥淚ts faults are huge: its virtues less so 鈥� but they are there. Gosling has energy and appetite. There is a delirious buzz to the drama. It is often ridiculous and fatuous but often ingenious. It could yet be that Gosling will mature as a director.鈥�
Lost River听was brought to Cannes by Warner Bros. with the intention of also handling the US theatrical release, but in the wake of the film鈥檚 critical reception it looks like the studio is trying to hand off Gosling鈥檚 movie to someone else. According to听, Warner Bros. is currently speaking with indie distributors about the possibility of one of them acquiring and releasing听Lost River.
It鈥檚 not altogether the first successful first outing as a filmmaker that anyone鈥檚 ever had. We鈥檒l have to wait and see whether Gosling just needs some time to develop his own style, or whether he鈥檒l simply stick to acting in future.
H. Shaw-Williams blogs at .
