Top 5 – Ryan Gosling Movies

Ryan Gosling is a cinematic treasure.  Since his days as a member of the Mickey Mouse Club, he has since grown into one of cinema’s most diverse actors.  He can do bigger Hollywood productions, smaller independent films, and star in Oscar worthy films.  His diversity goes unnoticed and so does his talent.  This Friday, Gosling teams up with director Damien Chazelle again for First Man, a film that should garner tons of awards attention.  So with that, here are my favorite Ryan Gosling movies.  The movies on this list are based on a combination of movie quality and the performance of Gosling.

5 – DAN DUNNE in HALF NELSON (Ryan Fleck, 2006)

Following the great success of The Notebook, Gosling went back to his indie roots for a performance that would earn him his only Oscar nomination to date.  Gosling is extraordinary as a middle school teacher and girls basketball coach who has it all together in the classroom, but outside, his life is in shambles, which includes an addiction to hard drugs.  When a student (Shareeka Epps) catches Dan smoking crack in the girls bathroom at school, the two end up realizing their lives are more similar than they think and they form an unlikely friendship.  This is an uncompromising, harsh film about inner demons and unlikely friendships, with Gosling and Epps having pitch perfect chemistry.  There is no doubt that this performance should have garnered Gosling not only an Oscar nomination, but also a win.

4 – DANNY BALINT in THE BELIEVER (Henry Bean, 2001)

This is the film that showed what Gosling was capable of as an actor and boy, did he knock it out of the park.  Breaking away from the child roles and Disney stuff, Gosling took a deep, complex role as an anti-Semetic man who is actually Jewish.  This is a shocking, provocative, thought provoking film that makes you think about identity and whether you define yourself by your roots or by what you believe in.  This is, in my opinion, Gosling’s best performance.  He is an angry, sad, confused man and Gosling hits all the right notes, creating one of the only sympathetic racists I’ve ever seen on screen.  This is masterpiece performance in a small indie film you need to see immediately.

3 – HOLLAND MARCH in THE NICE GUYS (Shane Black 2016)

Ryan Gosling has never been known as a comedic actor.  If you look at his filmography, and even this list, you’d find he’s mostly a dramatic actor.  So him being in Shane Black’s noir comedy The Nice Guys was a stretch for Gosling and he kills it.  Playing an alcoholic private investigator who gets caught up in a murder case, Gosling is absolutely hilarious as he stumbles around, trying to solve the case while also keeping track of his daughter, who seems to have her head on straighter than he does.  But what makes March great is that he’s actually a good investigator, contrary to what his daughter or fellow detective think.  Gosling and co-star Russell Crowe play off each other like seasoned pros, spitting Black’s whip-fast, quippy dialog like the pros that they are.  This is an underrated Gosling performance, but it’s easily one of his best.

2 – DRIVER in DRIVE (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)

Drive is unlike any movie you’ll ever.  This is a hot-blooded, shocking, entertaining, wild art house action film.  Gosling gives a samurai-esque performance as Driver (his real name is never revealed), a stunt driver and mechanic that doubles as a getaway driver and ends up getting into some deep water when he helps his neighbor.  Gosling doesn’t say much in this movie, but he doesn’t have to.  Giving his most physical performance ever, Gosling uses his eyes and body to convey all his emotions from angry to confusion. With its beautiful visuals, stunning direction from Refn, killer soundtrack, and a great supporting turn by Albert Brooks, Drive is one of the best movies of the decade and a huge stepping stone in Gosling’s career.

1 – SEBASTIAN in LA LA LAND (Damien Chazelle, 2016)

Gosling’s first collaboration with director Damien Chazelle is one of my favorite movies of this decade.  La La Land is simply magical.  An ode to classic musicals of the 30’s and 40’s, while mixing it into a modern time with a modern romance.  Gosling showed he could literally do everything in this one.  He showed showed he could do drama, comedy, showed that he could sing, dance, play the piano, and showed is endless charm and wonderful chemistry with Emma Stone.  Sebastian is a character whom I empathized with deeply, as he is a man passionate about what he loves and whenever someone would bring him down, he would continue his passion.  Emma Stone may have gotten the Oscar, but Gosling is the best part of the film.  With top-notch music, masterful direction, and pair of awards-worthy performances, La La Land is a film I love every second of and the best Ryan Gosling movie.

What are your favorite Ryan Gosling movies?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevfli or on Facebook at Kevflix.