The 53rd film in my 100 film challenge is Lost River. As soon as I’d heard that Ryan Gosling was going to make a film I was interested. Loved both Drive and Only God Forgives where he stars for Nicolas Winding Refn, one of his mentors. An actor moving behind the camera isn’t unusual, but it doesn’t always work out. Especially when writing it too!
Whilst there were promising aspects and moments, unfortunately Lost River fizzles out half way through and ends up rather disappointing. Visually it looks great and is well shot, with Gosling happy to let the camera tell the story, allowing plenty of semiotic imagery on screen. The casting is pretty spot on too, although many of the characters perhaps lack a bit of depth. Ben Mendelsohn stood out for me, but the film in general is a just a bit too odd.
For me I hope that Gosling gets another chance to make a film. There is enough in Lost River to show he has the passion and inventiveness for it. I wonder if a more collaborative approach would work better, and writing with someone with a little more experience may help.
Interesting but flawed, with a poor final act. More like a weird meandering lost river.
Dan at the Movies 