Julian (Ryan Gosling) and his brother Billy (Tom Burke) run a successful criminal enterprise in Thailand hidden by their Muay Thai Club. But when Billy is murdered in retribution for a crime that he committed, their mother Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) travels across the globe to demand Julian take revenge. 

Only God Forgives is a simple story of violence, revenge and justice. But the manner and style in which it is told is so hypnotically stylish and dripping in symbolism that it has always rendered me spellbound. 

When Billy rapes and murders a sixteen year old sex worker he remains at the scene awaiting the police. A revered detective named Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) is summoned and his decision is to bring the girl’s father to the scene and allow him to beat Billy to death. Chang then slices the father’s arm off as a punishment for not protecting his daughter from becoming a sex worker. 

Later Julian has this man at his mercy. But when he hears the story of what Billy did he lets him go. When Crystal arrives in Thailand she is appalled at what Julian has done and on hearing what Billy did she declares, “I’m sure he had his reasons”.

The plot at its heart is about the violence that lives inside Julian and the justice meted out by Chang.

Let’s talk about some of the key facets of the film. 

Julian played by Ryan Gosling is as cold and emotionless as he possibly can be. His character is constantly trying to repress the violence within him. His life has been one of violence. We hear that he killed his father with his bare hands at the behest of his mother and Julian constantly stares at his hands or clenched fists aware of the violence within them that he is trying to hold at bay. He trusts himself so little that he has Mai (Yayaying Rhatha Phongam), the woman he has a relationship with tie his hands to a chair before she pleasures herself in front of him. Gosling has always been the master of the smallest movements saying the most things and this role encapsulates that entirely. 

Crystal played by Kristin Scott Thomas behaves like evil incarnate. It is clear that she raised Billy and Julian to be wolves. There are undertones of sexual violence that she committed on them and they do her bidding at all times. She openly emasculates Julian at every opportunity stoking the violence she has created within him. Kristin Scott Thomas is a force to be reckoned with in this role. 

Chang however is justice. He will deliver them from their evil in a manner of the Old Testament version of God. Producing a sword from his back where none was he metes out swift retribution before heading to a karaoke bar to unwind. It seems very clear that the God of the title is Chang. And Vithaya Pansringarm delivers the mystery of him with aplomb. 

All of this information is given to us in a dream like quality where every image is bathed in extraordinary light by cinematographer Larry Smith. The reds, blues, greens and whites all clearly indicate an emotion whilst the characters themselves speak sparingly. 

The score from Cliff Martinez helps with the dreamlike atmosphere. A sometimes thudding and sometimes melodic electronic symphony. 

One thing I do know is that my love for this film is in the minority. Writer/director Nicholas Winding Refn has often been cited for making films that are style over substance and he and Gosling were coming off the back of the huge success of the masterpiece that was Drive. To then go and use Gosling to make this divisive and violent film was somewhat of a master stroke for him. How else would he get anyone to see it? 

I love everything about it and when its mind blowing symbolic ending completes the 90 minutes of genius I am just astonished by the audacity of the whole thing.