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Roderick

Films of Nicolas Winding Refn

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I just watched Drive. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, especially since I'd already heard others say that the start of the film isn't really indicative of the rest of the film. I will definitely echo that sentiment, as whatever it is that I was expecting, Drive was not it.

In a good way.

I almost feel like I'm ruining the experience for someone else just saying this, but the film sets itself up as one thing, then as another and then ends up being something else again. The one thing that's undeniable is that the film is relentlessly stylish throughout. I'd also note that through some combination of writing, directing and acting, the performance of the main character is just fucking magnetic. I could scarcely take my eyes off him.

Recommended, even if I'm not totally sure why and don't want to spoil the experience for another by trying to figure it out here.

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Ryan Gosling is one of the best actirs right now and you should seek out his other performances this year in Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Ides of March (required viewing for Thumbs for the name alone).

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I just watched Drive. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, especially since I'd already heard others say that the start of the film isn't really indicative of the rest of the film. I will definitely echo that sentiment, as whatever it is that I was expecting, Drive was not it.

In a good way.

I almost feel like I'm ruining the experience for someone else just saying this, but the film sets itself up as one thing, then as another and then ends up being something else again. The one thing that's undeniable is that the film is relentlessly stylish throughout. I'd also note that through some combination of writing, directing and acting, the performance of the main character is just fucking magnetic. I could scarcely take my eyes off him.

Recommended, even if I'm not totally sure why and don't want to spoil the experience for another by trying to figure it out here.

I agree with all of that, and have very little to add other than that when I discovered it was directed by the same guy as Bronson it suddenly made a bit more sense to me (not that they are similar in content at all).

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On the subject of Drive, that was the second Nicolas Winding Refn film I'd seen, the first being Bronson. I didn't initially realize that he'd directed Drive, but it made a lot of sense once I did. I found the plot a bit strange, and the violence quite surprising, but thought the driver's character was fascinating and the film itself undeniably stylish. Previously, I'd really enjoyed Bronson, which was a film fascinated with its strange and violent central character, but also a film with a strong and surprising aesthetic. I've heard Bronson described as not really having a plot at all, rather being more of an installation. I think that's a fair observation, and something that probably puts a lot of people off the film, but it's not something I really minded. The film does move from a point early in Bronson's life to a point much later on (albeit not the present day), but not a lot really changes. Characters don't really develop, to the point where you could pretty much rearrange most of the film without breaking continuity. All the audience it doing is spending some time in the presence of this madman, yet the directorial flair Refn brings to makes it worthwhile for me, and I've re-watched the film several times in the past couple of years.

Drive has a much more traditional plot, in that there actually is a plot, but as far as I'm concerned it's still a film primarily concerned with character, violence and aesthetic. The film would be immeasurably diminished if the driver didn't have such a remarkable capacity for keeping his cool; an actual cool character, rather one that's cool in the "hey, that's cool!" sense.

I don't mean to dismiss the story – it was good – but it wasn't what made the film stand out for me.

I don't know, I never feel entirely comfortable analysing this stuff, because I fear I've fundamentally missed the point, but that's the impression I got from those films. It sounds a bit dismissive, but I really don't mean it like that. I love directors with such a strong sense of the audio-visual. I'm curious to see whether Refn was able to translate his sense of style into something appropriate to the setting of Valhalla Rising.

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I'm curious to see whether Refn was able to translate his sense of style into something appropriate to the setting of Valhalla Rising.

I didn't realise that was the same guy. I considered but passed over Valhalla Rising when it was first released due to a tepid critical reception and my own oversensitivity to dodgy cash-ins on Norse culture and mythology. Perhaps I'll actually give it a fair shake and see what it really is.

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I was wary of it for similar reasons, but I'm also curious. He'd certainly be capable of making something more interesting than what I'd otherwise expect; whether he actually did or not is another matter.

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Only God Forgives, the latest from Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn, is not a good movie. It is maybe the slowest and most languid crime film I have ever seen, and one of the most predictable. The whole movie feels like it's moving through molasses. It's often beautiful to look at, but man is it dull.

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Only God Forgives, the latest from Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn, is not a good movie. It is maybe the slowest and most languid crime film I have ever seen, and one of the most predictable. The whole movie feels like it's moving through molasses. It's often beautiful to look at, but man is it dull.

 

Yeah, I was expecting that. The film he did before Drive, some Viking thing, was artsy in the wrong way, as if it was influenced by MTV and Tarkovsky, ending up meandering, slow and superficial. I'll still probably give Only God Forgives a chance.

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Valhalla Rising is a difficult film, but quite powerful nonetheless. Nothing beats Refn's Bronson though!

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Yep, Bronson was great. But I disagree about Valhalla Rising. It's not difficult, it's just not saying anything about anything.

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Really? Shit, it's been too long for me to really appreciate the subtleties, but what I got from it (and mind you, I wasn't smitten by it or anything) was a pretty interesting sense of location. Valhalla Rising creates this weird pseudo-medieval/Roman era Northern Europe, which borders on a sort of dreamlike imagination. Nothing's quite believable (the boat scene a prime example), but it's a stark vision. That, at least, I liked.

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I don't have a lower limit in terms of stuff I need to get out of a movie or a book or a game in order for me to enjoy it, so I enjoyed Valhalla Rising even if it's true that there's not much there, but it was certainly a slow movie and it didn't have a lot of stuff per minute, so I suppose I agree that there are lots of movies that deliver messages more efficiently in the time available to them, either by being shorter movies or by packing more messages in.

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Also, I watched Drive a couple of days ago and that was pretty rad, if somewhat depressing.

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With Hotline Miami 2 coming out I thought I'd finally watch Drive, since people keep comparing the two (or the movie with the first game anyway). Honestly I didn't find it all that good. It's a quiet movie (which I generally like) but it doesn't fill that quiet space with a strong mood or anything at all really, it's just feels as empty as the protagonist's stare. The script's also bloody predictable. At least Kavnisky's amazing but that's about the only good thing about it.

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In between The Pines is kinda like Drive but it has a bit more going on narrative wise which you might prefer. Still a quiet movie. I think it's longer though so take care.

Oh the soundtrack is taken in a different direction I think.

I really enjoy both films.

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With Hotline Miami 2 coming out I thought I'd finally watch Drive, since people keep comparing the two (or the movie with the first game anyway). Honestly I didn't find it all that good. It's a quiet movie (which I generally like) but it doesn't fill that quiet space with a strong mood or anything at all really, it's just feels as empty as the protagonist's stare. The script's also bloody predictable. At least Kavnisky's amazing but that's about the only good thing about it.

 

Drive is kind of an art house take on genre, but mostly it's a mood piece so any narrative issues didn't really bother me. The director Nicolas Winding Refn is actually name-dropped in the "Special Thanks" section of the Hotline Miami credits. It's all about the color palette, cinematography, and soundtrack. 

 

I've been watching Broad City and it's great. No clue why I've been sleeping on that. 

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I'm going to defend Drive - it's a quiet movie, but it's incredibly well directed. The director communicates so much through shots and staging that words are unnecessary.

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I saw Neon Demon last night and I kind of hated it.

The scene compositions were pretty and it felt like it was trying to have the film be as surreal as possible but it felt like either there wasn't enough substance to help the style or the style wasn't done well enough to carry the lack of substance.

It didn't really help that for me a lot of the scenes just felt like 'Oh he wanted all the pretty naked girls to do this now' which made some sense after the fact that the director is really into old shocksploitation movies, but I don't think it worked for me here though.

Plus a main character interaction is another riff of a predatory lesbian trope which just felt like a let down to me even it was supported by the theme.

 

I like surrealist movies but I guess there's usually a subtext to go along too even if the movie is mostly style. Maybe this was deliberately basic but it didn't feel right for me.

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I saw Neon Demon last night and I kind of hated it.

The scene compositions were pretty and it felt like it was trying to have the film be as surreal as possible but it felt like either there wasn't enough substance to help the style or the style wasn't done well enough to carry the lack of substance.

It didn't really help that for me a lot of the scenes just felt like 'Oh he wanted all the pretty naked girls to do this now' which made some sense after the fact that the director is really into old shocksploitation movies, but I don't think it worked for me here though.

Plus a main character interaction is another riff of a predatory lesbian trope which just felt like a let down to me even it was supported by the theme.

 

I like surrealist movies but I guess there's usually a subtext to go along too even if the movie is mostly style. Maybe this was deliberately basic but it didn't feel right for me.

 

I saw it too, and feel like you're just hedging your criticisms here. Neon Demon is just kinda bad, you don't need to justify that much further. The Bronson is really good, but everything Refn has done after has been progressively up its own ass with each new film.

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I liked The Neon Demon. I think it was a pretty good audiovisual experience -- Refn just wanted to portray certain things in a certain way visually and aurally, didn't have much to say with the whole thing.

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I have a pretty good time with Refn's movies. They are pretty shallow, but he tends to come up with surprising visuals and thick atmosphere often enough. I haven't seen this one yet.

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