Lost River

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

Warner Brothers is one of the best movie studios in the business. Putting out controversial movies such as, A Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers & One Eight Seven, it's clear that this is a studio that likes to takes risks with films. They prove it yet again with the directorial debut of Hollywood heartthrob, Ryan Gosling's art house flick, Lost River. I'll start by saying this about the film; it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Gosling has an eye for camera placement and style, taking a page out of the David Lynch School of directing. Unfortunately that's where the praise stops, as this is one boring and rather pointless movie. The story centers on a single mom played by Christina Hendricks, (Mad Men) who lives in a virtually abandoned city of Lost River, with her two kids, one of which has run afoul of the local gangster played by Matt Smith. (Dr. Who) A Gangster so mean that it's widely know throughout the community his love for cutting off peoples lips who cross him. In the end it's clear that Gosling wants to shed his pretty boy persona and come across as more intellectual and thoughtful. Hopefully the next time he decides to get behind the camera he has a better script to film.

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).

Most famous actors rely heavily on the production team during their directorial debuts and aren't very involved in the directing process. Last year, Angelina Jolie truly proved this with her movie Unbroken (actually her second film as a director though). A high budget WW2 film that Jolie clearly didn't put much effort into. It feels like the whole idea was just given to her when she called her agent and stated that she would like to direct a new movie. It is also not uncommon to see actors casting themselves in their directorial debuts, such as Zach Braff in Garden State. Lost River, is the weirdest directorial debut you'll ever see from an actor.

I've always liked Ryan Gosling. He picks his movies carefully and works great with "different" directors like Nicolas Winding Refn and Derek Cianfrance. Lost River is probably the strangest film in recent years. It is hard to explain what it is about so I'm not going to talk about that in this review.

The movie is very similar to most David Lynch films, especially Mulholland Drive. Therefore, one of the best things about Lost River is actually the cinematography, it helps to create the mysterious experience. I'm a very big fan of thrillers which don't explain everything to the viewer, but I know most people aren't. And that's why many will dislike this movie for what it is. With that being said, if you hate to re-watch films and want simple story lines, Lost River is not what you should be watching.

I really appreciate all the effort Ryan Gosling has put into this movie. It is risky to make a film like Lost River these days, and I'm glad Gosling was willing to take that risk to show his trademark. It is notable that he actually made the movie himself and didn't rely on the producers. Fans of David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn and David Cronenberg will surely have a good time with Lost River. I'm looking forward to Gosling's next feature, and can't wait to re-watch this film.

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.