The Power Play: The 5 best Ryan Gosling films to stream right now

THE release in cinemas of the epic space biopic First Man marks a new triumph for Ryan Gosling. Here are five more ways to stream the Goz at his best …

THE release in cinemas of the epic space biopic First Man marks a new triumph for Ryan Gosling. Here are five more ways to stream the Goz at his best …

FIRST MAN BLASTS OFF AS ONE OF YEAR’S TOP FILMS

LA LA LAND (2012) *****

Foxtel Now

AN unabashed love letter to the mind-melting majesty of the best movie musicals of yesteryear. Emma Stone is Mia, a struggling actor cramming in auditions between shifts at a coffee shop. Gosling is Seb, an equally battling jazz pianist on the verge of selling out to stay in the game a little longer. This dream screen couple captivate with the easygoing wit and direct feeling they find in their characters.

RYAN GOSLING STARS IN ONE OF YEAR’S BEST FILMS

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THE NICE GUYS (2015) ***1/2

Stan

A lurid 1970s Los Angeles choked with smog and charged with smut is the backdrop for a highly enjoyable crime caper. However, it is what is happening in the foreground that really elevates this to a cut above the rest. Here you will find one of the most unlikely and effective comic pairings in years: Gosling as a cut-price private investigator, and Russell Crowe as a bargain-basement standover man.

DRIVE (2011) ****1/2

Netflix

Gosling plays a solitary figure known only as Driver, a part-time movie stuntman forced to come out of his shell after befriending a lonely neighbour (Carey Mulligan) and her child. With both hands on the wheel and the pedal pressed flat to the floor, this brilliant, focused thriller proceeds swiftly towards true cinematic greatness. En route, the movie swerves, brakes, speeds up and slows down with astonishing precision.

Ryan Gosling in a scene from Drive.

BLUE VALENTINE (2010) ****

Stan

On what is shaping as the final day of a problematic marriage, a couple take one last, long hard look at each other and wonder where it all went wrong. In this confronting and painfully raw domestic drama, there is nowhere for stars Gosling and Michelle Williams to hide. The lead performances are so real that you worry for the wellbeing of the actors. Highly recommended, except if you choose it as your next date movie.

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE. (M) (2011) ***

Foxtel Now

A solid, sincere comedy. Steve Carell (Date Night) stars as Cal, a middle-aged Mr Average who has just been dumped by Emily (Julianne Moore), his wife of over twenty years. With assistance from a younger Mr Smooth named Jacob (Gosling), Cal gradually becomes a proficient player of the dating game. Slightly darker and far more thoughtful than a rom-com, but too light to be labelled a drama in any sense.

Caitlin Thompson and Ryan Gosling in a scene from Crazy, Stupid, Love.

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Originally published as The Power Play: The 5 best Ryan Gosling films to stream right now