The bizarre concept Ryan Gosling used while making his directorial debut
After beginning his career on Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club and finding huge success as the romantic heartthrob at the centre of The Notebook, Ryan Gosling suddenly made a swift career pivot. Starring in quirky independent favourites Lars and the Real Girl and Blue Valentine, he turned his back on commercial leading man roles and secured a place in the hearts of cinephiles and Letterboxd lovers.
This reputation only grew. He somehow made a silver and gold lobster jacket look cool with his slick performance in Drive, proved his aptitude for heartfelt comedy in The Nice Guys, and learned to play the piano for Damien Chazelle’s award-winning La La Land. Between collaborations with the masterful Denis Villeneuve and Barbie director Greta Gerwig, Gosling has become one of the most important names in Hollywood.
While he’s primarily known for his appearances on screen, Gosling has also tried his hand at directing. In 2014, he delivered his directorial debut with Lost River. Perhaps taking inspiration from working with Nicolas Winding Refn on Drive, the film had striking, neon cinematography full of contrast. It also featured a breathtaking score from Johnny Jewel and an interesting cast, including Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan and Matt Smith.
Despite the film’s intriguing elements, it was perhaps too self-indulgent, trying too hard to be quirky and shocking. As a consequence, the reception to Gosling’s directorial debut was underwhelming, and the actor is yet to venture further into filmmaking.
Still, if there was anywhere Gosling was likely to excel, it was on set with his fellow actors. Using a technique just as strange and self-indulgent as the film it produced, the actor-turned-director asked the cast members to remember their dreams each night and share them the next day.
Speaking on his use of the filmmaking concept with Vice, Gosling explained: “That’s a style of acting that’s pretty popular right now, where actors use their dreams to connect whatever material they’re working on. I wasn’t sure about it – you know, you chum the waters and see what you can get.”
Gosling found that the technique “played into the overall themes and narrative of the movie, which was about a woman whose dream was turning into a nightmare, and I thought that the film should have that same quality. I thought we could explore that privately and then in a literal way.” He dubbed it “kooky”, much like the film itself, but maintained that it came in handy on set.
Though it produced a reasonably disappointing debut in Lost River, the film was suitably dream-like. It also seems like an interesting idea to get the most out of your actors and story on set, one Gosling might be able to utilise more successfully if he ever takes another shot at directing.
