This review marks the 40th film this year that I have reviewed. I find it fitting that it is also one of the most unique movie going experiences I have had in a long time, and that is saying something. I say unique because it is hard to pin down exactly what kind of movie Drive is. It isn't exactly exploitative action, nor is it your standard drama and while I did laugh a few times I certainly would't classify it as a comedy. The best way, and the only way I can think of to describe Drive is to say that it is a throwback to late 70s and early 80s anti-hero films. Not only does it thematically fit those films but director Nicolas Winding Refn has made deliberate stylistic choices that echo that cinematic time period as well. From the neon titles, to the music, to even the shot selection, everything about this film oozes the slime and dirt of the 1980s.
I have always thought of Ryan Gosling as a bit of a pansy. That's not to say that I don't think of him as a great actor, I do, but I have never considered any of his performances to be particularly tough. There was of course his breakout role in "The Believer" but since then most of his roles have been of the soft variety. This film certainly changed my mind. Ryan Gosling is silent, violent and brooding in this film. He has very few lines and yet he has the ability to say more with a stare and a gesture than most actors do with Shakespeare.
Gosling's character spends his days as a stunt car driver for the movies, and his nights as a wheelman for various hold ups and robberies. He avoids personal entanglements and has contact with only one man, a broken old mechanic named Shannon (played with just the right amount of desperation by Bryan Cranston). When he meets his neighbor Irene (played by Carey Mulligan) and her son he becomes changed, as if they bring out the best in him. He appreciates the relationship they have and develops a bond with the two that allows him to act normal.
Just as their relationship is developing, Irene's husband, Standard, is released from prison. Despite being an ex con Standard isn't a bad guy, he just made bad choices. Now that he is out he is determined to keep his nose clean and get his act together. That would have been easy except he accepted protection from a group expecting payment upon his release. They want too much, so he offers his services in a robbery.
It is during the robbery that the tone of the film changes. It literally turns up the intensity to eleven. The tension and the suspense are heightened. It is also during the robbery gone wrong that the brutality starts to take center stage. The movie is very violent, not graphically so, although there is plenty of blood spilled, much of it on Gosling's scorpion jacket. The best way to describe the violence in the movie is visceral. The movie makes you feel the violence rather than showing it to you, and as a result you are more affected by it.
All of the acting in the film is superb, each actor becoming lost in their perspective roles almost completely. Gosling is amazing in his role displaying an intensity that has rarely been seen on film. But the real surprise is Albert Brooks. His performance completely blew my mind. I have seen a good chunk of his work, and while everything I have seen suggests his talent, none of it suggests his ability to display this kind of menace in a role. His character is just as brutal as Goslings, but with far more to say. I would be surprised to not see him on the ballot come Oscar time.
Nicolas Winding Refn has directed only a handful of films and is most recently known for directing the equally as brutal film "Bronson." Quick history lesson: "Bronson"is the film that most American directors discovered Tom Hardy in. His performance led to being cast in many of the films you are seeing him in now including "Inception," "Warrior," and "The Dark Knight Rises." Like "Bronson." "Drive" is an intense, brutal and beautiful film.
Overall the film is a well crafted, a well acted and a superbly paced action film that because of it's violence may not appeal to everyone. Despite its violence it is a film that should not be missed or dismissed. It is truly a masterwork of filmmaking.
