• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – Lost River (2014)

April 5, 2015 by Gary Collinson

Lost River, 2014.

Written and Directed by Ryan Gosling.
Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith and Saorise Ronan.

SYNOPSIS:

A single mother of two descends into a dark underworld trying to save her childhood home and hold her family together, while her son sets off on a journey to uncover the secret behind the origins of their abandoned city, Lost River.

Lost River, the bizarre and unfeasibly pretentious directorial debut from Hollywood heart-throb Ryan Gosling, plays out as if a punchline to a joke made up of one too many parts, or a film student with a nightmarish Messiah complex. Made up of nonsensical non sequiturs, Gosling plods from one homage to another, nodding towards Nicolas Winding Refn, David Lynch, Harmony Korine and Gasper Noe in the process.

Christina Hendricks plays Billy, mother-of-two, struggling to pay her mortgage as her son Bones (Ian De Caestecker) loots wrecked houses for copper. His looting brings him into conflict with the somewhat sinister, more often pantomime villain Bully – played with bravado and a strange intensity by Matt Smith. As she falls behind her mortgage payment, Billy comes into contact with Dave (played wonderfully by Ben Mendelsohn), who offers her a job in a BDSM  night club he happens to run. Saoirse Ronan also makes an appearance as Rat – because she has a rat – Bones’ love interest.

Gosling and his cinematographer Benoit Debie visually masturbate over Detroit’s gothic ruins, ensuring every shot, although lacking in any substance, at least looks pretty. Yet each shot plays out as simply a series of voyeuristic images – a house being destroyed, Bully demanding people look at his muscles, a sunken Prehistoric park. There is no restraint, every image is packed to the brim with garish, portentous ideas lost in Gosling’s vacuous pomposity.

Lost River is baffling, impossibly pretentious and more often than not idiotic, yet I didn’t hate it. In fact, I may have enjoyed it. There’s something in watching a film being weird for the sake of being weird. The dialogue is wooden and without purpose, the gore is genuinely unsettling and the aesthetic is garish and wonderfully strange. You could do worse than watching Lost River as a double-bill alongside SpongeBob Squarepants’ latest cinematic venture.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Thomas Harris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&feature=player_embedded&v=ONsp_bmDYXc

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Thomas Harris Tagged With: Ben Mendelsohn, Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Iain De Caestecker, Lost River, Matt Smith, Ryan Gosling, Saorise Ronan

About Gary Collinson

Gary Collinson is a film, TV and digital content producer and writer, who is the founder of the pop culture website Flickering Myth and producer of the gothic horror feature film 'The Baby in the Basket' and the upcoming suspense thriller 'Death Among the Pines'.

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Essential Joe Dante Movies

Great Director’s Cuts That Are Better Than The Original Theatrical Versions

10 Badass Action Movies You Might Have Missed

Ten Essential Films of the 1940s

Incredible Character Actors Who Elevate Every Film

The Best Eiza González Movies

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Revisited: The Birth of a Horror Icon

7 Mad Movie Doctors Who Deserve More Recognition

Speed: The Story Behind the Pulse-Pounding Action-Thriller

10 Great Forgotten Erotic Thrillers You Need To See

Top Stories:

8 Great Cult Sci-Fi Films from 1985

Marvel’s Black Panther spinoff Eyes of Wakanda gets a first teaser trailer

Movie Review – Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Movie Review – 40 Acres (2025)

4K Ultra HD Review – James Bond: The Sean Connery Collection

7 Mad Movie Doctors Who Deserve More Recognition

4K Ultra HD Review – Dark City (1998)

Movie Review – Heads of State (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

13 Great Obscure Horror Movie Gems You Need to See

The Essential Richard Norton Movies

Horror Sequel Highs & Lows

Horror Video Games We Need As Movies

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket