Drive has got to be one of the hardest films ever to write a review one. I can not articulate why I like this film so much, it has beautiful cinematography yes. Great acting, yes. Superb story, that too. However I don't think its any of these reasons that I can attribute to my love for this film. Nicolas Winding Refn directing this film and recently also directed "Only God Forgives" which failed in the eyes of many critics so what is it that makes "Drive" work so well?
The opening to "Drive" is in a word, beautiful. Ryan Gosling contacts the people he is working with, telling them they won't be able to contact him on this number again before meeting up with Shannon, played well by Bryan Cranston. Once the Driver has his inconspicuous getaway vehicle, he meets up with his contacts and they embark upon a robbery, and a chase ensues in which the Driver craftily dodges the police until ending up at a Boston Red Sox game and leaving the police in the dust by leaving with the crowd whilst Nightcall by Kavinsky begins to play over the opening credits.
The plot to drive whilst simple on the surface has layers upon layers of themes and subtext. It basically follows the unamed protagonist (I will refer to him as "the Driver" from here onwards) partnering up with a recent convict named Standard, the husband of the Drivers neighbour, Irene. Throughout the film, we see the almost mute Driver try and build a relationship with Irene, and each time we see him get close to something that might resemble a relationship, there is an issue that gets in between them. The first sign of them becoming intimate is when Irene grasps the Drivers hand as they are driving around the city at night. Benicio her son is also an important character but I will talk about hm a little later. The characters of Nino and Bernie serve as the films primary antagonists, using both Standard and the Driver as a means of getting a one million dollars of stolen Mafia money into the city without being part of the blame.
I would love to go into more detail of the plot but I really do think that this film is one that should be experienced to the fullest and in order to allow you to do that I don't want to spoil the plot. I will say however that the film is extremely violent. Utilising Ultra-Violence a hyper realised violence similar to that in films such as Watchmen and 300, there are certain scenes so grotesque that they are almost too hard to watch, but director Nicolas Refn is so stylish in his execution that it keeps your eyes pinned to the screen.
That might be the films highest merit, its style. Combining some of the beautiful slow motion shots with the soundtrack in this film creates an exhilarating experience, breathtaking in fact. As the Driver moves through the city, its an almost calming situation, there are people out there trying to kill him and harm Irene but these scenes take there time to build tension and suspense and.. my god that ending scene might actually be the most tense scene in the whole of cinema history, its that good.
Earlier I spoke of layered subtext in this film and "Drive" is full of little gems, such as when Benicio is watching a cartoon with the Driver, and the Driver asks "are there any good sharks?" to which Benicio reply's "No, just look at him!" We then see the Driver's face drop as he realises that he is a shark, he is one of the bad guys. Drive is one of those films that is much more than meets the eye, it isn't an action movie as the trailer or newspaper reviews might have you believe. It is a crime drama, but its also a highly stylised, ultra violent, entertaining romp that will satisfy a lot of people.
This is a hard review to write because whilst I do not want to spoil a film like this, it is hard to articulate why I do like Drive without delving into all the tiny intricate details, its just something that you absolutely have to watch. Outstanding performances from Bryan Cranston, Ron Pearlman, Carey Mulligan and of course Ryan Gosling are something of note, without these actors I doubt the characters would have been as memorable or would have had the same impact on the story.
Stop sitting here reading this review, go and watch Drive, believe me you will not regret it.
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