April
19
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LOST RIVER (15)
LOST RIVER (15)
Run time: 93mins
Director: Ryan Gosling
Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, Ben Mendelsohn, Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan
Synopsis: Set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city, the film follows Billy, a single mother of two, as she is swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son Bones discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the mystery if their family is to survive.
URL: www.facebook.com/LostRiverUK
Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut Lost River weaves elements of fantasy, noir and suspense into a modern day dark fairy tale and fascinating story of loss, love and family.
Set in the virtually abandoned city of Lost River, the fable centres on Billy (Christina Hendricks) a single mother of two who must venture into the macabre underworld to save her childhood home.,
Her elder son Bones (Iain De Caestecker) has tried to help by stripping copper from dilapidated ruins only to fall foul of the local skinhead psychopath Bully (Matt Smith of Doctor Who fame). Bones looks after his baby brother and is attracted to neighbour Rat (Saoirse Ronan), who tells him the mythology of Lost River.
Visually beautiful but often confusing, Gosling’s film, for which he also wrote the script, seems very influenced by David Lynch in some sequences and Nicolas Winding Refn in others. There is also a splash of Gaspar Noe, with Lost River’s cinematography owing its brilliance to Benoît Debie.
While the acting ensemble impress with strong performances, the film as a whole is elusive and often baffling, starting as an exposition on economic recession in post-industrial cities like Detroit and thereafter meandering into bizarre realms of surrealism – but never losing its hypnotic grip.
Images courtesy of Entertainment One UK
