Regular readers know how hard I fell for “Drive” at Cannes two years ago, so when the news broke that Ryan Gosling and director Nicolas Winding Refn were reuniting for a similarly hard-boiled thriller, I admit my usually well-behaved inner fanboy let out a rather loud yelp. Yes, “Only God Forgives” had me at hello — and that was before they added one of my favorite working actors, Kristin Scott Thomas, to the mix. Gosling’s sleek posturing, Refn’s heightened action styling and Scott Thomas vamping it up as a black-hearted gangster mama? Did this film somehow get made in my subconscious?

Probably not, since I’m not the only one champing at the bit for “Only God Forgives,” which has its world premiere at Cannes in just a couple of weeks’ time: the blogosphere is currently having kittens over three new clips that were released for the film earlier today.

In the interests of full disclosure, I haven’t watched the clips in full myself: particularly with films I’m anticipating as heavily as this one, I prefer to avoid pre-release materials as much as possible, and I’m not a big fan of out-of-context clips in any event. But a cursory glance at these is pretty tantalizing, not least because Scott Thomas seems to be pretty flashily showcased in them, asserting her maternal dominance over Gosling’s character and looking trash-fabulous in the process.

Could she be to “Only God Forgives” what Albert Brooks was to “Drive?” And if so, as silly as it is even to think such things in April, could a Best Supporting Actress campaign be on the cards? Okay, I’m not going to go any further with that thought, but the performance promises to be a riot, in any event. Meanwhile, the film itself could hardly look any more dazzling, albeit in a rough-and-ready manner. Bring it on. 

Check out the clips below if you so fancy, and share your thoughts. How eagerly are you anticipating this particular summer reunion?