Ryan Gosling will not appear in “Lost River,” his debut as a writer/director, so he’s sent Matt Smith as his emissary to recruit ab-loving fangirls.
There’s not a lot to be taken, plot-wise, from the first teaser for the movie, which premieres at Cannes, but the one minute clip does give several hints about the film’s direction.
Also read: Ryan Gosling to Produce, Possibly Star in Busby Berkeley Movie for Warner Bros.
Sure, Gosling is known for quirky films like “Lars and the Real Girl” and romances like “The Notebook” and action stuff like “Drive,” but if anything, “Lost River” looks — and this is just a first impression — like it’ll lean toward his most recent film, “Only God Forgives.”
That film, which was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, also debuted at Cannes, where most critics hated it (probably because they didn’t realize it was a comedy). It was sparse and bizarre, and rife with symbolism that few could understand. Who knows why Matt Smith is flaunting his abs in “Lost River,” but the tone of the scene doesn’t exactly suggest a logical explanation.
Another thing we know from this trailer: When they filmed in Detroit, they weren’t doing much of it on a soundstage, that’s for sure.