Ryan Gosling, the face that launched a thousand lovestruck sighs across movie theatres and quickly became one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. With the facial structure of an Old Hollywood movie star, soft eyes, and luscious, dirty blonde locks, Gosling has become a pivotal figure of Hollywood over the years. One of cinema's most recognizable heartthrobs, starring in iconic romance films like The Notebook and Crazy, Stupid Love. He's also expanded his talents to raw and somber dramas like The Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, showcasing a range in skill as an actor. However, it wasn't until he stumbled across the screen playing the bumbling private detective, Holland March, in The Nice Guys that Gosling crystallized as a heavy-hitting actor capable of any part.

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When The Nice Guys came out, it was pre-La La Land, and Gosling's previous films were either pure drama (Drive, The Ides of March) or rom-coms, with one stint into a mixture of drama and comedy with The Big Short. But it's this performance opposite Russell Crowe in The Nice Guys that Gosling proves he can straddle the line between comedic irony and drama enough to outshine a heavyweight actor like Crowe.

It's almost hard to look away from him the entire film. Fully engrossed with what he'll do next. Perhaps fall down another hill or cut his wrist while attempting to break into a bar? He's just a chaotic whirlwind that moves from one scene to the next with so much energy and upbeat humor that hasn't been seen in any of his films before this one. Sure, he had done comedy before, flexing that muscle in one rom-con after another. But there's nothing quite like watching a handsome Hollywood darling play an absolute loser, and Gosling does the most in this particular niche.

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Image Via Warner Bros.

Set amid the 1970's porn and drug buzz in the United States, this comedy follows Gosling's private eye character in search of a young girl believed to still be alive by her aunt. What begins as a simple task of finding this girl becomes one giant government cover-up with murders and sex tapes thrown in the mix. A hardboiled detective comedy that also gives Gosling the opportunity for sincerity. A recall to his more dramatic work, like his role in The Place Beyond the Pines, a man hardened by the world. He's not just the simple-minded private detective, but someone well-rounded in nature that genuinely does care.

These characterizations are carefully woven through his dynamic performance as Holland March. Beneath the "shtick" is a multi-layered man that is disappointed with life, and angry that his job prospects aren't looking so great. He seems to spend more time cleaning up his messes than making his daughter proud, and that's it, isn't it? It's about straddling that line once again, between comedy and sympathetic characterization that Gosling does so well in this film.

One version seems to be an absolute loser who can't catch a break, spending his time thinking he never will. The other is a man who still gets up every morning to be the best dad he can be under the current circumstances of strange men coming into his home, beating him up, and passing out in bathroom tubs—wearing a full-piece suit—submerged in water. It's how viewers are first introduced to him. Pulling himself out of a hungover state and listening to a voicemail of his daughter reminding him of adult things she shouldn't be concerned with.

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Image Via Warner Bros.

It's hard to ever really say which performance is stronger than the other. It's all very subjective. However, with Gosling, there's a strong point of comparison when it comes to his body of work. He's garnered a persona that's only pegged him in roles that seems to only stem from his good looks and amiable personality. From dramas to romantic comedies alike, it's all he's ever been known for. However, The Nice Guys is the first time we see Gosling take a role and use it as his personal acting playground. Exerting energy with every line he utters and committing to the physical comedy that the role demands. The performance has an unabashed joy, and you can tell Gosling had a lot of fun playing this character. Letting himself get lost in character but never straying too far into a parody of himself.

It's hard not to find his Holland March downright irresistible and in the way only Gosling can do, just a little bit sad. Adding in those small details makes the difference. Not hard when a wheezing, manic Gosling losing his mind over a dead body next to him while he smokes has more comedic gravitas than an SNL sketch. It does take a lot of convincing to make an audience believe that things don't come easily to someone like Gosling, which almost becomes the point of his entire character. While important and flattering, accolades don't matter much when this performance is forever immortalized in the repertoire of Gosling's legacy as an actor.