Lost River
Okay. For what this film is — a directorial debut — a dark arthouse fantasy — made by Ryan Gosling — it’s honestly fantastic. This film creates such a beautiful alluring atmosphere in a part of the U.S. that a lot of people don’t get to see — or choose to ignore. Though Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, and Ben Mendelsohn aren’t proper embodiments of the Other due to their celebrity images — they fit so well and all perform wonderfully. Hendricks especially. I never thought I’d get to see Joan Holloway cut her face off with a scalpel.
Depicting these families being forced out of their homes and driving them into this neon, candy-coloured fantasy to project the psychological horrors of displacement into gorgeous filmic techniques — it’s genius.
Reminiscent of Dario Argento through and through — and Gosling does that style WAY better than Refn does.
For the people picking apart the narrative and calling it stupid and empty, everything Argento did is stupid and empty — but they’re all fantastic films, no? His atmospheres and his keen eye for colour; his artistic imprint is what draws us to his films, despite how ridiculous they are. Gosling also draws from Mario Bava a bit — and somehow managed to get Barbara Steele. I absolutely love Suspiria, Inferno, Deep Red — and Bava’s Black Sabbath and Black Sunday — but they’re all goofy and sleazy. That’s the style. And I think that’s what Gosling was going for. He said he didn’t really care about the reception on this film and he wanted to make something that he would’ve gone to see on a summer night at the drive-in when he was growing up and he succeeded with aplomb.
While Lost River has moments that are a bit campy, the imperfections of this film make it what it is. A sublime midnight flick with an absolutely perfect soundtrack from Chromatics’ Johnny Jewel that even if you find a bit silly, will definitely keep you engaged until the end.
I hope he sticks with this style if he writes/directs more films. This is an incredible start for him and lord knows he’ll only get better and better.