theater. Only God Forgives Review. The brutality can be startling and includes several moments of vengeance and torture. Review of Nicolas Winding Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES. Only God Forgives Review. Parents need to know that Only God Forgives is an extremely violent drama from Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn.Like 2011's Drive, Refn's latest movie stars Ryan Gosling as a tortured man and features scenes of unflinching violence. Yet the confidence with which Only God Forgives presents these unsavory ingredients is stunning, and many of the flaws here almost seem intentional, amping up the aggression via canvas-shredding self-sabotage. READ MORE: The Playlist Reviews “Only God Forgives” He’s not alone. In some ways, “Only God Forgives” qualifies as a follow-up to Refn’s 2011 film, “Drive,” which starred Gosling in a similarly terse, somber performance. The film was given a limited release stateside and now arrives on DVD/Blu ray for home viewing. US ex-pat Julian Thompson (Gosling) runs a Bangkok boxing club as a front for his family’s drug business. Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. Refn’s influences dominate when you most want them to fuse into a personal style all his own. ‘Too Old to Die Young’ Review: Only God Forgives This Sh-tshow Nicolas Winding Refn’s extended tale of stoic antiheroes and avenging angels isn’t TV — it’s self-parody "Only god Forgives" created a few waves over the summer when the film made the film festival rounds and polarized critics at Cannes, many walking out. Only God Forgives is a treasure trove for cinephiles, which may be the problem. Only God Forgives movie reviews & Metacritic score: Julian lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. Only God Forgives, starring the hottest actor in the world in a violent underworld revenge saga, is unforgivably dull. The Complex Morality of "No Country for Old Men" No need to go to deep into the plot. Men use knives, swords, guns, and their fists to injure, maim, and kill. Only God Forgives. 3. awful.