Ryan Gosling is tremendously talented. And extremely hot.
No one here has mentioned his best film. It's a little seen film which really launched him in the industry called The Believer. He plays a Jewish neo-nazi.
He's sexy as fuck in it but, more importantly, gives a stunning performance.
No film he's done since has been such a showcase for what he can do as an actor.
Blue Valentine would be the next best.
And, in response to the question about the film Murder By Numbers--the undertone in the movie and his performance is undoubtedly homoerotic. It's a re-working of the Hitchcock film Rope, which was inspired by the infamous Leopold & Loeb murder case.