Ryan Gosling Picks A Fight In Only God Forgives Red Band Trailer

Ryan Gosling has reteamed with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn for another movie that also appears to be tapping into Gosling's dark side. The red band trailer for Only God Forgives offers a side of violence and darkly lit rooms with an introduction to Gosling's Julian and his mother Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas), a woman who doesn't understand her son and willingly admits she was advised to abort him during pregnancy. Dark and intriguing may only begin to scratch the surface in terms of descriptive adjectives for this one.

The basic description for Only God Forgives is that a thai police lieutenant and a gangster settle their differences in a Thai-boxing match. That would explain Gosling's "Wanna fight?" line. But it's evident that there's much more to this story and though the trailer doesn't get into specifics, there is a murdered brother involved in the scenario, which is what sets Julian on his quest to settle "differences." According to Indiewire, Gosling says the film is "very extreme," going on to reference his last film with Refn, stating, “It's part of the same dream as ‘Drive,’ but it's more of a nightmare than a dream but it's more extreme.” Meanwhile, last year, Refn also referenced Drive when discussing the film. He was quoted as saying, "This one is very much a continuation of that language. It's based on real emotions, but set in a heightened reality. It's a fairy tale."

Is it a "fairy tale" or a "nightmare"? Based on this latest glimpse of the film, it actually looks like Refn may have found a strange, shadowed place between the two, which could make for a unique and intriguing tone for a film.

Fans of Drive, Refn's work and of Gosling in general are likely to want to check this one out when it arrives in theaters. And we're left to wonder when that'll happen stateside. The film is set to debut overseas in May, but we're still waiting for word on when it'll make its way into U.S. theaters.

UPDATE! - We just received word that the film arrives in theaters July 19.