Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling: Anatomy of a Scene #book2movies

I’ve been a little afraid to see Blade Runner 2049. It’s getting extraordinary praise for the world director Denis Villeneuve and famed cinematographer Roger Deakins have created. 
There’s also criticism that the plot is muddy, that the film holds audiences coldly at a distance. What I’ve been worried about, as a Ryan Gosling devotee, is how the actor’s performance as K, holds up.

The delightful news is that Gosling is perfect for the part of K.

 I’ve seen this in multiple sources but A.O. Scott in the NYTimes puts it perfectly.

‘Speaking of avatars of alienation, K moves through his days with the unhurried shuffle and downcast baby blues of Ryan Gosling. This is impeccable casting. Mr. Gosling’s ability to elicit sympathy while seeming too distracted to want it — his knack for making boredom look like passion and vice versa — makes him a perfect warm-blooded robot for our time. He is also, in 2017, something close to what Harrison Ford was 35 years ago: the contemporary embodiment of Hollywood’s venerable ideal of masculine cool, a guy whose toughness will turn out to be the protective shell encasing a tender soul.

Nice, huh? This echoes how I feel about Gosling, not merely an attractive actor, there is always something else going on beneath the surface.

Now, watch the New York Times hosted Anatomy of a Scene. 

Blade Runner 2049 came out October 6. It’s October 8th, and I still haven’t seen it. You?