NASA/Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Geoff Carter
Ryan Gosling is one of the most versatile actors of his generation with his ability to switch roles between heartthrobs and psychopaths, romantics and realists—or unlikely combinations of these disparate parts—as easily as falling off a log. There is an underlying goodness, sometimes a deeply buried one, in his persona. His easy smile and friendly demeanor can personify a good heart or the potential for good. Even when he is playing the ultra-violent stunt driver in Drive or the replicant K in Blade Runner 2049, his characters always contain a deeply ingrained humanity.
Even when he is playing inaccessible or distant characters, there is a transparency to Gosling’s persona, an avenue to the inner workings of his mind and soul. This is patently obvious in Lars and the Real Girl, when his socially awkward and delusional leading falls in love with a sex doll. Lars is so openly sincere about his weird fantasy that his entire hometown—and the audience—is willing to play along with his fantasy in order to help him adjust to his social reality.
In First Man, his intense and somewhat asocial Neil Armstrong is not a particularly likable American hero, but the anguish and grief which fuel his ambition is written across Gosling’s face as clearly as this morning’s headlines. In Half-Nelson, his portrayal of another kind of hero, an inner-city teacher, is tempered by the man’s addiction to cocaine and his subsequent self-destructive journey into near-oblivion. His dedication to his craft makes that voyage all the more horrifying.
In respect to their career paths, Gosling has been compared to George Clooney. While both are mega-stars, Clooney—with the exception of the Ocean 11 series (and the horrible Batman and Robin)—has not chosen the route of the blockbuster box-office superstar, instead choosing roles in smaller independent and less lucrative films like The Descendants or Hail, Caesar. In other words, he has defined his own screen persona and redefined the conventional Hollywood star. Gosling, in films like Drive, Blue Valentine, Ides of March (with Clooney directing), or The Big Short, is demonstrating the artistic integrity, good judgement, and shrewd insight to define himself as an artist and not as a commodity.
Ryan Gosling’s Ten Best Films
Lars and the Real Girl: Lars, a kind-hearted but socially awkward young man, begins a delusional relationship with a sex doll. Hoping to help Lars work his own way out of the delusion, his family and the small town he lives in agree to play along with his belief that Bianca, his girlfriend—is real. Although the premise sounds a little outlandish and maybe even pornographic, this is a surprisingly touching and tender movie. Lars’ relationship with Bianca is real and fraught with genuine tenderness, affection, and conflict. Gosling’s portrayal of this amiable young man brims with innocence, hope, and forgiveness. Lars does not wear the trauma he suffered as a child around his neck, but instead—through Bianca—bravely strives to work through it and live in the real world.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, and Patricia Clarkson. Written by Nancy Oliver. Directed by Craig Gillespie.
Ides of March: In this political thriller, Stephen Meyers (Gosling), the junior campaign manager for Democratic presidential nominee Mike Morris, is angling for the endorsement of South Carolina Senator Franklin Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) whose control of over 300 delegates will determine the nominee. Deflecting attempts from competing Democrat Ted Pullman’s campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) to lure him away from Morris, Meyers finds himself embroiled in a scandal surrounding campaign worker Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), himself, and Morris. As the plot thickens and loyalties are tested, reversed, and ethics are conveniently disposed of, Meyers is forced to put himself on the line for the sake of his candidate. Gosling’s portrayal of a man juggling his ethics, his job, and the powerful forces that may destroy him is nothing short of brilliant. Meyers’ slow descent into the amoral morass of politics reflects—and is the cause—of his candidate’s success.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei. Written by George Clooney, Beau Willimon, and Grant Heslov. Directed by George Clooney.
La La Land: A modern throwback to the Hollywood film musical notable for an outstanding opening dance sequence of the Los Angeles freeway system. Set in present-day L.A., the film follows a struggling actress Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) and her budding romance with a jazz musician Sebastian Wilder (Gosling). The bittersweet romance blossoms, then pivots as the careers of the two young take very different paths. As Seb, Gosling is a stuffy and somewhat arrogant jazz musician who refuses to play gigs he considers below his—and his art’s—dignity. When Mia first compliments him on his playing cheesy Christmas tunes at a bar, he dismisses her rudely, but then, when she later teases him for playing in A flock Of Seagulls cover band, they develop and sweetly tangible chemistry. Ryan displays varying degrees of passion for his music and his love. His sweet naivete is vintage Goslin.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, John Legend, Rosemary DeWitt, Tom Everett Scott, and Josh Pence. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
Blade Runner 2049: This sci-fi thriller, set thirty years after the original Blade Runner, pits “K” (Gosling), an LA police officer—a blade runner—who is tasked with tracking down and retires renegade replicants. The discovery of a mysterious box containing the remains of a replicant woman who died during childbirth—supposedly impossible for replicants—leads Officer K on a quest to seek the child and the father, a journey which leads him to the replicant rebellion movement and Decker (Harrison Ford), the blade runner who holds the secret to the identity of the girl replicant. As a replicant trying to discover the truth of his own heritage, and the nature of humanity, Gosling is brilliant. While his body language and facial expressions convey a non-human sensibility, the dawning of the realization of his own identity is masterfully shown through Gosling’s subtle and soulful portrayal.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Ana de Armas, and Carla Juri. Written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Directed by Denis Villaneuve.
The Big Short: In this historical drama depicting the housing bubble collapse of 2008, three interconnected stories describing the investors and firms that nearly destroyed the economy are depicted in strikingly comic (and terrifying) detail. To explain the intricacies of some financial instruments, the directors used celebrities to directly address the audience. Selena Gomez, Margot Robbie, and Anthony Bourdain explain subprime mortgages, credit default swaps, and CDOs. As financial executive Jared Vennett, Gosling displays a nearly reptilian cold-bloodedness and inhuman disregard for everything—and everyone—but profit. His depiction of this man who goes ahead with his plan to make obscene profit at the expense of thousands of middle-class homeowners is chilling. The film itself is a beautifully concise depiction of the complex subject matter, and its humorous sensibility belies its frightening content.
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei, John Magaro, Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, and Anthony Bourdain. Written by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay. Directed by Adam McKay.
The Nice Guys: In this tongue-in-cheek buddy detective film, private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is hired by porn star Misty Mountain’s (Murielle Tello) aunt to find her. Amelia (Margaret Qualley) a friend of Misty’s hires enforcer Jackson Healy (Crowe) to scare March away. When it turns out another group of thugs is out to find Amelia because she is working on a experimental pornographic film. Absurdities pile on as the two unlikely partners suffer through a series of mishaps on their to uncovering a conspiracy involving catalytic converters and porn. Not known for his comedic skills (although as Lucky Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander, he does a couple of hilarious turns), Crowe and Gosling do a terrific job in this great neo-noir comic romp.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Margaret Qualley, Muriell Tello, Kim Basinger, Keith David Williams, and Lois Smith. Written by Shane Black and Anthony Bagrozzi. Directed by Shane Black.
Drive: In this ultra-violent trendy indie thriller reminiscent of Pulp Fiction or Mulholland Drive, Gosling plays Driver, an unnamed stunt driver, stunt double, and getaway driver. Working with his manager Shannon (Bryan Cranston) at his auto shop, Driver meets Bernie Rose (Albert Brookes), who sponsors a race car for him. Driver meets a new neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son and soon starts a relationship with her, but when Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from jail, complications ensue. Driver offers to drive getaway for a heist Standard is forced to pull in order to pay off his debt but when things go sour, he is enmeshed in a plot involving the mafia. Although Driver barely speaks at all in the film in a performance compared to Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name, yet he is able to convey a spectrum of emotion ranging from affection to genuine compassion to uncontrolled rage.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, and Russ Tamblyn. Written by Hossein Amini. Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn.
Blue Valentine: In this romantic drama, Gosling plays Dean, an unambitious romantic who meets medical student Cindy (Michelle Williams), who is pregnant with another man’s baby. Dean suggests they marry and that he will act as the baby’s father. Five years later, Cindy is working as a nurse and Dean has a series of dead-end jobs painting houses and also has a drinking problem. In a series of flashbacks and other narrative twists, the audience not only sees the deterioration of the couple’s relationship but also the newly mined love and mutual affection shared by the two of them before things went sour. Gosling veers from a hopeful and optimistic romantic to a dissolute ne’er-do-well desperate to save his relationship. When pleading with Cindy to stay, his eyes express all the shattered dreams he once had.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Mike Vogel, Faith Wladyka, Marshall Johnson, and Jen Jones. Written by Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis, and Cami Delavigne. Directed by Derek Cianfrance.
First Man: In this biopic about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, Gosling, in the titular role, takes the audience on a journey filled with personal grief, anguish, and remarkable courage stretching from the early days on Earth to his “giant steps” on the moon. The film traces Armstrong’s career from his early days as an X-15 pilot to his acceptance in the Gemini program and to his final acceptance into the Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong loses a young daughter to brain cancer, colleagues to the Apollo I fire and other mishaps—which seem to follow Armstrong throughout his career. The uncommunicative, sometimes distracted, and sometimes surly Armstrong is not necessarily an appealing character, but in Gosling’s hands, his anguish is understandable and even—considering his circumstances—inevitable.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Ciaran Hinds, Kyle Chandler, Patrick Fugit, and Jackson Clarke. Written by Josh Singer. Directed by Damien Chazelle.
Half Nelson: In this harrowing drama, Gosling plays Dan Dunne, a talented but unorthodox middle-school teacher who is addicted to crack cocaine. He befriends Drey (Shareeka Epps), one of his students with a difficult home life. Her brother is in prison and her father is absent. Frank (Anthony Mackie), a local drug dealer, tries to force Drey into working for him. Even though Drey sees Dan snorting coke at a school basketball game, he attempts to save her from Frank’s influence, even confronting the drug dealer. The two fall deeper into their respective swamps of pain and hardship but still manage to maintain a genuine friendship. As Dan, Gosling embodies an idealistic and effective teacher balancing on the thin line between altruism and oblivion. Psychologically, he is both a charismatic educator and a time bomb.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Denis O’Hare, Monique Gabriela Cumen, and Jay O. Sanders. Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Directed by Ryan Fleck.