Director Nicolas Winding Refn left his mark on Hollywood in a big way with his 2011 neo-noir drama film Drive starring Ryan Gosling. Starting off with low-budget Scandinavian crime dramas before hitting the English-language circuit with 2008’s Bronson, Refn has become a director with his own signature style, one that's instantly recognizable by his loyal fans.
The director has a penchant for creating ultra-cool and ultra-violent pieces of work that often focus on the seedier side of human nature. A lot of his films feature characters that do despicable things, though the audience is still able to empathize with them. Refn has directed a total of 10 films in his young career, all featured in the list below and ranked according to their IMDB scores.
Only God Forgives (5.7)
Hot off the heels from 2011's highly acclaimed film Drive, director Nicolas Winding Refn reunited with Ryan Gosling for the heavily divisive crime drama Only God Forgives. The duo headed to Thailand to tell the story of Julian (Gosling), a drug smuggler caught up in Bangkok's seedy underworld, who's tasked by his mother to find and avenge the death of his brother.
It's a relatively straightforward plot and one that should have made for some solid entertainment value, though the final product was one that left audiences scratching their heads. Only God Forgives plays more like an independent arthouse film, with a slow-burning pace and minimal dialogue. It also included lots of symbolic imagery that was confusing at best. The moviegoing audience was unimpressed.
Fear X (6.0)
John Turturro features in Refn's third film, 2003's Fear X, where he plays a man on a mission to uncover the truth surrounding the mysterious murder of his wife in a parking garage. He discovers a clue from a security camera's footage that sends him on a dark and twisted journey. Another Refn film with an intriguing plot that seemingly goes nowhere.
Fear X is one of those films that can only be truly appreciated by film purists, as it's extremely slow with a surrealist tone that doesn't often appeal to a wider audience. Turturro's performance is a redeeming factor, however, and fans of the works of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick may see something in this that others won't.
Valhalla Rising (6.1)
For 2009's Nordic drama Valhalla Rising, the director recruited fellow Scandinavian Mads Mikkelsen to star as One Eye, a pagan fighting slave who escapes his captors and joins the forces of a group of Crusaders on their journey to find a new world. Being a Refn film, there's a lot of violence and soul-searching along the way.
Yet another film that divides audiences, the Viking-themed Valhalla Rising features beautiful cinematography and an abundance of symbolism that generally flies over most people's heads, as it trods along through the narrative. It's a thought-provoking film with amazing visuals and an inspired performance from Mikkelsen, but it's lacking in the entertainment department.
The Neon Demon (6.2)
Refn tried his hand at horror with 2016's stylistic film The Neon Demon starring Elle Fanning. Fanning plays a young model who moves to Los Angeles to try and make it in the fashion industry. Her beauty is unrivaled, which annoys her model colleagues and she soon finds out that they'll do just about anything to get a piece of what she has to offer.
This isn't your typical jump-scare horror film, but rather one that elicits a sense of unease from the audience, as they're taken deeper and deeper into the darker side of the fashion industry, with some disturbing consequences. It's a satirization of the industry and the types of people involved in it, albeit one with a horrific twist.
Bleeder (6.8)
Regular collaborators Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen lead the cast in Refn's second feature film, Bleeder. The two play a pair of good friends, one of whom works in a video store (Mikkelsen) and is determined to forge a relationship with a local waitress, and the other, a soon to be father (Bodnia) with anger management issues who regularly takes out his anger on his pregnant wife.
One of Refn's trademarks is to lighten the mood of his generally dark and twisted films with humor, and such is the case in 1999's Bleeder. From early on the audience is treated to some clever banter from Mikkelsen's movie aficionado character, which is a treat for film buffs, before it begins to explicitly bring home the message that there are consequences to one's actions, and in this case, violent and disturbing consequences.
Bronson (7.1)
Tom Hardy headlines Refn's first English-language film Bronson, based on the real-life account of the notorious British prisoner Michael Peterson, who after being locked up for 7 years following a robbery, ends up serving 34 years in prison, 30 of which were in solitary confinement. In that time, he would take on the moniker of Bronson and go on to become Britain's most notorious and violent convict.
Bronson is unlike any other prison drama that's come before it, taking viewers on a journey into the mind of a dangerous criminal as he creates a narrative in his own head during those tumultuous long years in solitary confinement.
I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III (7.3)
The third installment of Refn's famed Pusher trilogy sees Zlatko Buric's character Milo take center stage following small, but memorable roles in the first two films. The charismatic drug kingpin has a lot on his plate in Pusher III, having to cook a feast for his daughter's wedding, while attending rehab for drug addiction, and overseeing a drug deal that inevitably goes south.
Milo was a fan-favorite of the first two Pusher films, with his stoic demeanor and funny quips adding an element of comedy relief to the otherwise gritty setting. This final film in the trilogy gives audiences the best of Milo's character while keeping true to the classic Pusher tone and not avoiding the violence that the series is known for.
With Blood on My Hands: Pusher II (7.4)
Mads Mikkelsen headline's Refn's fourth film, With Blood on My Hands: Pusher II, graduating from a key supporting character in the first Pusher film. He plays Tony, a low-level criminal who's just been released from prison and looks to get his life in order, but the criminal life that he's become accustomed to won't make it easy for him.
Mikkelsen truly embraces the role of Tony and his performance forces the audience to empathize with the character's plight, despite his mostly unsavory actions. Like the other films in the trilogy, Pusher II features a grounded tone with its realism making the themes and events that take place all the more unnerving.
Pusher (7.4)
Refn's first film, the low-budget crime drama Pusher tells the story of Frank (Kim Bodnia), a street-level drug dealer who botches a drug deal that puts him in serious debt with a crime lord. With time against him, Frank scrambles to come up with the money he owes in the shady underbelly of Copenhagen.
Pusher has gone on to become a cult classic amongst fans of the crime genre, with its witty, funny dialogue, intriguing characters, and classic criminal hijinx. Shot predominantly with a hand-held camera, Refn places the audience right alongside the film's dodgy protagonists for maximum effect. The film's charismatic stars do well to mask some of the unflinching violence, making for a perfect balance of storytelling and shock factor.
Drive (7.8)
Refn hit his peak in 2011 with the cool crime-noir film Drive, which stars Ryan Gosling as a Hollywood stuntman/mechanic/getaway driver with a shady past who falls in love with his next-door neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan). The 'Driver' finds trouble after meeting Irene's abusive husband who is fresh out of prison, forcing him to venture back into a life he's trying to forget.
This highly praised film features a perfect blend of drama and suspense, with amazing visuals and a memorable synth-pop soundtrack. It did, however, cop some flack by misleading its audience with an action-focused trailer prior to its release, and while there is some action, Drive is more of a slow-paced drama-thriller that hits its mark in every aspect.