Ten Of The Best… Ryan Gosling

~ philthebearblog

In my opinion Ryan Gosling is one of the best actors of his generation.

Which just so happens to be my generation, which for some peculiar reason makes me follow his career with great intrigue. My goal here will be to tell you what I think his ten best movies are. And you may ask, does this mean it will be his best performances or his best movies? And my answer is that I have tried to deliver a balancing act where I give you both, but ultimately it is my personal favourites.

The initial idea for this article was for me to do a new type of feature that would not be as time intensive as my director retrospectives where I watch every single movie in release order and review them in one gargantuan article. The issue with my personality though is that part way through the process I decided that I could not do a top ten without having seen every single one of Gosling’s movies. So if you follow my site you may have noticed a large influx of Gosling movie reviews!

Every single Gosling film review is linked at the bottom of the article, but first lets go through my Top 10.

10. The Believer (2001)

The Believer makes this list purely because of how important a step that I think it was in Gosling’s career.

Gosling began his career at the age of twelve as a Mouseketeer in the Mickey Mouse Club alongside the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Keri Russell. Following two years as a Mouseketeer he spent the ages of fourteen to nineteen as a child actor on various TV shows and movies.

When he made the switch to more “serious acting” he picked up a supporting role in Remember The Titans before being given this incredibly challenging role at the age of twenty.

In The Believer, Gosling plays a violent Neo-Nazi who also happens to be a Jew. It is a fantastic performance in a small independent movie that showed his credentials as a “proper” actor and was a hugely important step in that progression from child actor to grown up actor.

As for the film itself, it is a fascinating and sometimes difficult watch.

9. Half Nelson (2006)

Half Nelson represents another huge milestone in Gosling’s career when at the age of twenty-six he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Forest Whitaker won for The Last King of Scotland). His performance as a school teacher addicted to drugs is nothing short of sensational in a film that offers no answers, only questions and ideas.

The idea of the film feels like something particularly alien in today’s society. The idea that people with opposing views through reasoning and discussion could come to the truth of an idea. That opposing contradictions can be pushed together to get to an answer. The fact that the film so perfectly encapsulates this idea by its characters and themes make it a particularly satisfying and powerful watch. It feels like a skill forgotten in these partisan times.

On a personal note this film also means more to me as I received the DVD as a present from a friend, since lost to the disease of depression. At the time I was only aware of its existence and had never seen it. So perhaps I have him to thank for my appreciation of Gosling’s acting.

8. Only God Forgives (2013)

This I suspect will be my most controversial pick in this list.

I love Only God Forgives but am fairly certain I have never met anyone who shares that view!

A simple tale of violence, revenge and justice. The brutality on display might be too much for some. But the film is filled with symbolism and leaves plenty of room for interpretation on what is actually happening. Most of all, it looks and feels stunningly dreamlike throughout.

This is a film that relies on Gosling’s ability to convey emotion without speaking and I think he is one of the greatest actors around who can do that.

7. The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

The Place Beyond The Pines is a grand and sweeping epic that deserves to be celebrated.

Gosling only appears in the opening fifty-two minutes of the film but is so insanely good that he casts a shadow over the remainder of the film. Something that is apt given that the film focuses on the relationships of fathers and sons and the legacy that one can leave the other.

Gosling plays a motorcycle rider named Luke who has a strong sense of duty and a propensity towards violence. He appears like a rockstar, tattooed and chain smoking. Whilst the friendship he forms with an ex-con and the relationship he has with the mother of his child leave indelible marks.

The film also features Bradley Cooper as the other father whose legacy has ramifications on his child.

6. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

The first of three comedies in my list Crazy, Stupid, Love is an absolutely delightful film that is consistently funny and also genuinely uplifting in the traditional sense of romantic comedies. But it is still an unconventional romantic comedy in that its message is that you need to constantly fight for and keep sight of your love.

Gosling shines in this film as the player who thinks that he is teaching a tired middle aged man to pick up women but finds himself learning from him the importance of loving attachments. His scenes with Steve Carell are laugh out loud funny, whilst his chemistry with Emma Stone has resulted in them being cast as a couple two more times (to date) subsequent to this film.

5. Barbie (2023)

Barbie is the second comedy on this list and is an all round sensational film.

Gosling earned his third Oscar nomination (Robert Downey Jr. won for Oppenheimer) for this movie in the role of Ken. And bizarrely for a film about Barbie I thought most of the best moments revolved around him. His comedy chops are working full tilt to skewer toxic masculinity and portray male fragility. Plus he shows that yet again he is a talented singer and dancer. His performance of “I’m Just Ken” both in the film and later at the Oscars ceremony are wonderful.

Margot Robbie is of course brilliant as Barbie and the way in which the script captures important issues between the balance of the sexes, gender expectations and male psychology is a welcome addition that made this blockbuster more than just a summer sensation.

4. La La Land (2016)

La La Land was one of the first films I ever reviewed on this site and I remember at the time being so excited to watch it. It lived up to expectations and more and frankly I am still surprised that it missed out on some Oscars it was nominated for.

It was nominated for a record tying fourteen awards but won only six. Emma Stone won her first Best Actress award and Damian Chazelle was the youngest ever person to win the Best Director award. But whilst it was announced as Best Picture, there had been an error and this was corrected and Moonlight was announced as Best Picture.

Gosling himself lost out to Casey Affleck for his haunting performance in Manchester by the Sea but it is still a fabulous performance that involves him playing piano, singing and dancing.

The film itself is a spectacular musical about love and making your dreams happen.

3. The Nice Guys (2016)

The third and final comedy movie in my list. The Nice Guys is so good that I decided to go back and review it last year just to have a review on this site. How it never spawned a sequel is beyond me.

Gosling is an excellent comedic actor and this film really shows off his physical humour. Two scenes specifically come to mind; firstly when he tries to break into a room by punching a glass pane to open it from the inside and secondly when he is in a public toilet when Russell Crowe’s character comes in to speak to him. Speaking of which Crowe is another actor who Gosling seems to have effortless chemistry with and they even took the skit to the Academy Awards presenting an award together whilst bickering like the characters.

The film itself is a brilliant and comedic detective story that both works as a mystery and a comedy.

2. Drive (2011)

Drive is a phenomenal film and the second in this list from director Nicholas Winding Refn. It follows a nameless driver as he works as a stunt driver for films, a mechanic and a criminal getaway driver. But everything changes for him when he meets a woman who lives next door to him.

Drive feels like an almost perfect film for Gosling’s ability to emote with few words but the manner in which the B-Movie is constructed is just too good to be true. I literally get tingles when I hear “A Real Hero” by College & Electric Youth because I instantly think of the stylish perfection of this film.

1. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Blade Runner is one of the greatest films of all time and the fact that the sequel made by a different director thirty-five years later manages to be one of the greatest films of all time as well is a special thing.

Director Denis Villeneuve understands exactly what Blade Runner fans are looking for. Cinematographer Roger Deakins makes it look spectacular. And leading it all is a sublime performance from Gosling who plays a replicant that is beginning to feel and make his own choices.

So there you have it… do you agree with my top ten?

Next up for Gosling is the incredibly interesting “Project Hail Mary” which is scheduled for a release in March 2026. The film is based on a novel by Andy Weir, whose previous book The Martian was turned into a fantastic movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. You can read my review of that in this article in my Ridley Scott Retrospective if you are interested. The film will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller whose comedy credentials are already solid gold with the likes of 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. This will be their first directorial film since Solo: A Star Wars Story was taken from them mid shoot. They are most well known for producing some of the best animated movies of recent years with the likes of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines. On screenwriting duties we have the cult favourite Drew Goddard famous for his part in Television classics such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost. His film credits include the aforementioned The Martian and The Cabin In The Woods. Hopefully the end result is as exciting as those credentials suggest.

Going forward I would love to see Gosling work with some of my favourite directors but it may be some time before we see him in a darker role such as in Drive or Only God Forgives. He was quoted in an article for The Wall Street Journal Magazine as saying, “I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some dark kind of place.” This is specifically taking into account the fact that he has two daughters under the age of twelve with his partner Eva Mendes (whom he starred with in The Place Beyond The Pines). So perhaps I might get to see him in a Christopher Nolan or Wes Anderson film in the next decade but not a Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese feature. I do personally think his comedy credentials would work brilliantly with Wes Anderson so perhaps that is always something to manifest. Otherwise there is a possibility we could see him as a jedi as he is linked to a Star Wars project. How likely that will be to actually happen we shall have to wait and see.

Looking back at my list and his filmography I have to say it was incredibly hard to leave the likes of Blue Valentine, Lars And The Real Girl and First Man out of my Top 10. What films would you have chosen?

And if your favourite has been missed, here is where you can find my opinion on every single one of Gosling’s films to date…

Every Gosling Movie Reviewed

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