Lost River

In the abandoned city of Lost River, Billy, a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld in her desperate attempt to save her childhood home and hold her family together. Her teenage son Bones, discovers a mystery about the origins of the titular place that triggers curiosity and sets into motion a journey that will test his limits and the limits of those who surround him. This film could have been brilliant, thinking back a few days after watching this total farce of a movie, it had some amazing visuals, some really visceral imagery, so while Gosling cannot write or direct at this time in his career, he has a wonderful eye. And yes, it does appear that he's just graduated from the Winding Refn school of film making, but there was something there, something screaming to get out and be prolific, but this just angered me that little bit more. When you have no coherent plot, or narrative, even the most bonkers, colourful characters cannot save it, and these characters are just wasted, wandering the titular place spitting out obscenities and nonsense, that makes you question Goslings sanity at times. If Werner Herzog had partnered with David Lynch, and allowed George Lucas and Michael Bay to write Twin Peaks ,this would have been the outcome. Wonderful to look at, really beautiful in places, but it's a load of old wannabe artsy pap.

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.

Few indie films of late have more effectively captured the inescapable, haunting truth of urban decay in a narrative capacity the way 'Lost River' does. We may hear about it in the news, or occasionally see glimpses of it via online write-ups but are we really getting the whole story? Still, Lost River's eerie tale of a young man and his mother's desperate attempt to hold onto their rapidly decaying home gets under your skin. It's not the kind of story everyone will enjoy, some frankly won't have the stomach for it. Despite it sporting a supremely well written and directed script by Ryan Gosling - with visuals and cinematography that are breathtaking, hypnotic and cryptically gorgeous. The fact that corporate greed is literally wiping out entire towns across the United States is a reality some are just not going to be interested in, but that might be this film's central conceit. The American Dream is slowly but surely turning into a sad, and devolved nightmare - governed by 'dark subcultures' which seem to be gaining momentum while murder, mass genocide, chaos and destruction continue to reign supreme. This is what's at the twisted heart of 'Lost River.' It also beautifully pays homage to Argento, Bava, Lynch, Tarkovsky and more. Some might feel inclined to make accusations that name actors like Barbara Steele are grossly underused. That may or may not be true, but I'd wager those folks are missing the point. If you're looking for a supremely bizarre, heady, visually striking foray into what some folks will do to hold onto their own little status-quos then this film is not to be missed.

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.

Yes, that's right. Most of us throughout life aspire to add a string to their bow now and then. However Gosling does the opposite here by offering up this piece of crap to diminish his flailing reputation. Maybe i'm biased here as i never considered him as even a half decent actor. He gives Wood a bad name. Not only can't he act, he can't even offer a good yarn. He obviously took on the Director's role as no other Director in the land would touch it with a bargepole. Can you see any studio taking this script on if it wasn't for his name? Please do not waste your time watching this unless you are related to Gosling and have to endure it.

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

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.

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).

This movie is a beautiful metaphor, a dark fairy tale where a mythological hero needs to break the spell to save a society in decadence. The setting is a city in decay ruled by evil and violence (if you love abandoned places and urban exploration you will love this movie). The soundtrack is a piece of art. The moment where the young lovers dance in an abandoned building is one of the most beautiful shots I have seen lately. The lovers need to fight to find hope in a place where society is in decay and people are trapped by sadness. The lake is a metaphor of the past, under the water lives the lost world, the things that we lost, the past that is still haunting us. I was a bit skeptical about Ryan Gosling's debut as a director, but I must say that he has surprised me. You need to watch this movie as it is, a fairy tale and a metaphor of today's decadent society.

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.