One of the biggest news stories to come out of the 
Cannes premiere of Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut was that it was received by a chorus of boos from the audience.While those reports were debunked to be hearsay, or at least hyperbole, the resounding negative press meant that the film was shut away from the world for almost an entire year. After a brief turn around from theatrical to home video release, the film is finally available and not only is it a lot more interesting than most film critics have claimed it to be, but it is one of my favorite viewing experiences of the past few years.
The film revolves around Bones (Iain De Caestecker), a young man who spends his days stripping derelict buildings of anything worth salvaging and selling it on. His mother Billy (Christina Hendricks) is also tasked with performing at a local club in order to make ends meet, while Bully (Matt Smith) a roaming thug, and Dave (Ben Mendelsohn) a tyrannical bank manager provide obstacles for our protagonists. The rest of the film is wrapped around an ethereal sub plot about a secret flooded town which Bones’ neighbor Rat (Saoirse Ronan) believes has cursed the town and holds the key to her grandmother inexplicably becoming mute. If this sounds strange and scattershot, its because it is. Gosling has embraced the fabulism that has made other filmmakers so famous. Among the names that have had some impact on Gosling’s directorial decisions are David Lynch, whose magical realism and mind warping mysticism appears to have rubbed off on the actor turned director, while the bold use of colour and emphasis on visual storytelling invokes Nicolas Winding Refn. The film also mixes a simultaneously romanticized and ugly representation of contemporary America which is heavily reminiscent of the work of Derek Cianfrance. All of these influences congeal to make a nightmarish adult fairy tale with a unique, dark tone. The film trips up a few times by featuring several improvised sequences with local civilians from Detroit, which is where the film was shot, the cinematic and acting styles in these scenes are glaringly at odds with the rest of the film, hearkening back to the spontaneity of Terrence Malick through a Dogme 95 lens.
One of the main negatives that I have against Lost River is that the destination is no way near as satisfying as its slow paced journey might entail. However, unlike some critics I believe there are a lot more successful elements at work here, and the it indicates that Gosling is still finding his groove behind the camera. The performances from the entire cast are stellar, the cinematography brooding but vibrant and Johnny Jewels soundtrack is impenetrable from criticism, mixing Cliff Martinez’s synthetic sound with ethereal, classical overtones. Lost River isn’t perfect but its got a lot going for it, and i hope the harshness from some critics doesn’t deter Gosling from more experiments behind the camera.
7/10
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