Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River, premiered at Cannes yesterday and split critics to two ends of the love/hate spectrum; with those who hated it REALLY going to town on the flick.
Our favourite quote comes from Wesley Morris of Grantland who said, "If a $200 haircut and $900 shades were given lots of money to defecate on Detroit, the result would be Ryan Gosling’s directing debut..." Ouch!
Others merely pointed how how Gosling, em, borrowed from other directors with the generally spot on Todd McCarthy of THR saying, "Ryan Gosling wades up to his neck into David Lynch territory in Lost River, a visual and aural sensory bath that shows some real flair but feels madly derivative at every moment.."
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was more fascinated by the film, and thinks that Gosling has potential as a helmer yet "Gosling has energy and appetite. There is a delirious buzz to the drama. It is often ridiculous and fatuous but often ingenious. It could yet be that Gosling will mature as a director..."
It's certainly provoked debate anyway, which is something every first time filmmaker could only hope for.
We're looking forward to seeing it soon - hopefully it's picked up by an Irish distributor.