FIRST LOOK: Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Only God Forgives’

SYNOPSIS: Julian (Gosling) lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna (Kristen Scott Thomas), arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Vengeance, a retired police officer who knows everything and who is both Judge and Punisher. Jenna demands that Julian kill The Angel of Vengeance, an act that will cost him dearly.

WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE A DAMN: Only God Forgives, which is a bad-ass title I must say, seems to be the spiritual predecessor of Gosling and Refn’s last effort, Drive, which resulted in one of the best, if not THE best film of 2011. With a pulsing, neon 80’s feel and score spattered with romance and equal parts violence, it was the most fun I’ve had in a theater in a while.

OGF looks to take some of that same aesthetic—the score is being produced by M83 and the neon is still there, only purple and green instead of Drive’s oranges and blues (which represented Gosling’s character’s affinity to change temperatures in a heartbeat, or, head-smash). If you loved Drive, like I did, then you might like this even more.

WHEN CAN YOU SEE IT: Expect it sometime before the end of the year, if not, then early Spring 2013. Until then, check out some of these cool set photos.

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