Ryan Gosling proves a dud as a director at Cannes

Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling made his directorial debut with Lost River and it premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. It was not a favourable day for Gosling, though, as his film received negative comments from film critics widely.

Lost River, mostly set in an underwater city, was criticised on Twitter extensively after the Tuesday screening. This fantasy-neo-noir film stars Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes and Matt Smith in lead roles. Film critic Justin Chang attacked the film as he wrote, “Had Terrence Malick and David Lynch somehow conceived an artistic love-child together, only to see it get kidnapped, strangled and repeatedly kicked in the face by Nicolas Winding Refn, the results might look and sound something like ‘Lost River,’ a risible slab of Detroit gothic that marks an altogether inauspicious writing-directing debut for Ryan Gosling.”

Chang’s fellow critic, Scott Foundas, was all yawning throughout the film and later he tweeted, “Gosling’s LOST RIVER a first-rate folie de grandeur. Echoes of Argento, Korine, Lynch, Malick in a tedious allegory of Detroit as ghost town.” Another critic Wesley Morris tweeted, “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.” Critic Peter Bradshaw posted, “Just think. If Ryan Gosling hadn’t been such a star actor, he’d never have been allowed to direct *stares into space, screams* #cannes2014.” Gosling was a NO show at the film festival though as he was quite busy with the post-production work of the film.