Judging by early reactions, Ryan Gosling‘s directorial debut is more likely to provide nightmares than memes.
For years, his enigmatic personality and quiet personal life meant Gosling’s face (and abs) were co-opted by internet denizens looking for a viral hit, leading to infinite variations on a “Hey Girl” quote the actor never said in the first place. With “Lost River,” the film that he wrote and directed and premiered at Cannes on Tuesday, Gosling has seemingly begun to fill that vacuum with smoke and confusion, shifting his persona from pin-up hunk to next generation David Lynch in the span of two weird, nightmarish hours.
The film, which features “Doctor Who” alum Matt Smith (seen showing off his own abs in this teaser yesterday) and “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks, has drawn perhaps the strongest reactions from anything screened at the festival yet this year. It’s hard to pin down the plot line, based on the tweets coming out of the theater, but then again, comprehension seems to have been quite a challenge for many in the theater, as well.
Here’s a selection of tweets from reporters coming out of the screening, all of whom issued first reactions that make an outsider wonder whether laughing gas had been released through the theater’s vents.
Also read: Good Morning Cannes, Day 5: Steve Carell Has Critics Buzzing Oscar and American Dreams Go Stale
Spoiler Alert: A lot of comparisons to Lynch and frequent Gosling collaborator Nicolas Winding Refn, with whom the actor stumped Cannes last year via “Only God Forgives.”
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.
— Wesley Morris (@Wesley_Morris) May 20, 2014
Ryan Gosling‘s Lost River is a conceited clunker – and yet there are great images and mad energy. Review up later #Cannes2014
— Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) May 20, 2014
NW Refn taught his padawan Ryan Gosling well. If you like that sort of thing you’ll like LOST RIVER. Personally, I’m mixed. #cannes2014
— Jordan Hoffman (@jhoffman) May 20, 2014
Ryan Gosling‘s Lost River: Mad jumble of ideas and imagery and dripping with New Orleans style. Much like his music. #Cannes2014
— Joe Utichi (@joeutichi) May 20, 2014
I can tell a lot of people hated it but I don’t care, LOST RIVER is in my Cannes top 3
— FilmLand Empire (@FilmLandEmpire) May 20, 2014
“It’s hard to try to be David Lynch” — first @AFP colleague reax to the Ryan Gosling premiere #LostRiver #Cannes2014
— Deborah Cole (@doberah) May 20, 2014
Who knew? His directorial debut Lost River suggests inside Ryan Gosling a new David Lynch has been waiting to get out.
— Gregg Kilday (@gkilday) May 20, 2014
Lost River – Fairy tail-esque mind fuck unlike anything else. Another death of the American dream metaphor, like an unshakable nightmare.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) May 20, 2014
Gosling’s LOST RIVER – I would have thrown fruit if I had some. Like WTF was this? #Cannes2014
— David Ketchum (@KetchumAtMovies) May 20, 2014
In all my years at Cannes, I’ve never been lost in a nightmare like this. So props to Gosling for originality, but it’s just too fucked up.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) May 20, 2014
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
— Scott Foundas (@foundasonfilm) May 20, 2014
Lost River: Ryan Gosling‘s directorial debut is a grimy urban fable equally indebted to Refn, Lynch and Hot Topic. #Cannes
— William Goss (@williambgoss) May 20, 2014
Some tried to boo, the applause were stronger. #LostRiver is enigmatic, poetic, simply beautiful. #Cannes2014
— Alexander Dunerfors (@dunerfors) May 20, 2014
Impressive impressionistic well-wrought debut for #RyanGosling with Lost River. Very @DAVID_LYNCH!
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) May 20, 2014
LOST RIVER: the ultimate student film, made by industry pros. Lynch, Argento & Refn pulse through it. Moments of madcap mania. Pure homage
— Be(n) Croll (@becroll) May 20, 2014
Lost River a cacophony of meaningless motifs stumbling round in service of a plot best summed up by “woman decides to move house”
— Jessica Kiang (@jessicakiang) May 20, 2014
LOST RIVER highlights/redeeming features: Johnny Jewel’s score, Ben Mendelsohn covering Hank Williams as Nick Cave, Ben Mendelsohn dancing.
— olilyttelton (@olilyttelton) May 20, 2014