Ryan Gosling isn’t foreign to the cinematic press junket scene, but when I talked to the auteur at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, the role he was discussing wasn’t his usual one. The upcoming film Lost River has Gosling’s name attached, but not as the star. That would be actor Iain De Caestecker, or actress Saoirse Ronan, or any of the other cast members who traverse the film’s watery wasteland. Instead, Gosling logged credits as the film’s writer and director, marking two firsts for the budding triple-threat. He’s already proven he can act, and through his new film, he also proves that he can string together an artistically-driven experience that’s lively, off-beat, and tragic in the most fairy-tale of ways.
It’s not hard to see where Gosling draws his directorial influences from, especially after running down his laundry list of on-screen roles. He’s worked with some of the more stylistically unique filmmakers of the past decade (Malick and Refn to name a few), and it’s hard not to feel their guiding hand as scenes turn into artistic photo-shoots saturated by vibrant, neon colors. That’s not to say Lost River is a copycat, but instead a student paying homage to his teachers.
A few weeks back, I was able to chat with Ryan Gosling while attending South by Southwest, where he was joined by stars Iain De Caestecker and Saoirse Ronan to discuss their new film, Lost River. Not only was I able to find out how Ryan made the switch from actor to director, but I was able to hear what impressed De Caestecker and Ronan most about their director’s first attempt. We chatted about the film’s desolate location, brooding soundtrack, and Gothic influences, along with a host of other topics. You’ve met Ryan Gosling the actor, but now it’s time to meet his alter-ego, Ryan Gosling the filmmaker!
You can check out Lost River in the video above and be sure to catch the film when it hits theatres and VOD on April 10th.
