Apart from the crime-thriller plot and vibe, this one has more than meets the eyes.
Ahh...Neo-noir.
The genre never fails to take me to another place. The casting of Ryan Gosling as the main character is spot-on for the lack of his facial and gestures. The 'mise-en-scene' though (frames and colors are gorgeous btw), gives it life and story brilliantly. The transition between his character in the first half of the movie to something darker is done by just a still shot of him and a dark tune playing in the background.
That's all it takes.
Having said that, I can't avoid going full Jungian and Campbell into this. Because the cues are all over the place.
Taking a quote from Joseph Campbell, "God is the manifestation of the energy. And the level of energy that is involved or represented determines the character of the god. There are gods of violence, there are gods or compassion, there are gods that unite the two. These are personifications of the energy that’s in play, and what the source of the energy is."
It is about the God within us.
He shifted deeper into the shadow during the execution of the mob boss. And he can also be lit with joy being around the lady and his son.
The mask Ryan Gosling wears is a personification of justice for the acts of the mob's boss. The ending scene shows it all as he sits motionless in the car after being stabbed. The still frame purposefully stretches longer than any other normal frame in any film. But then Ryan Gosling moves and breathes. Here he is the metaphorical representation of the divine idea of justice. Same as his first transition mid-way into the movie spoken earlier.
And Ryan Gosling's character? He has no name *wink
