Review of Drive (2011) by Dillinger P — 09 Nov 2015

In what is clearly Nicholas Winding Refn's most commercial, if you can even call it that, film, Drive manages to not only astound but cements itself as one of the best films, so far, in the 21st century.

Its a tremendous achievement for a director, who has spent his career going against expectation and failing to conform to the block busting norm. Any other director would create a brash and typical world, full of car stunts and explosions, shoot outs and minimal character, here Refn creates a more refined and subdued beast, full of violence, intensity and bursting with sex appeal.

Ryan Gosling plays The Driver, a modern day quiet stranger, Getaway driver by night and mechanic/stunt driver by day, he goes through what is clearly new beginnings, making a name for himself. After falling in love with the girl next door, Irene, he soon finds himself trying to protect her and her son Benicio, after her recently released from prison husband, Standard, gets himself well over his head with the wrong gang of thugs.

Although this is bad enough, it turns out that The Driver happens to already be working for the gang and situations soon turn to desperation. Drive has all the plot points of any Sergio Leone western, think A Fistful Of Dollars or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, the dashing antihero, silent in demeanor but deadly when pushed, the antagonist, bold, frightening and sleek and of course the linchpin, a troubled individual, struggling to get by and working both for his benefit.

Its a wonderful dynamic and luckily Refn has the cast to pull it off. Ryan Gosling is utterly riveting as the driver, doing most of his acting using facial expression and his eyes alone, he chomps on his tooth pick as he suavely glides through every scene like a ticking time bomb.

Carey Mulligan is jaw dropping as Irene, he subtle sweetness and natural beauty creates a wonderful character, making her completely sympathetic but not weak or your typical damsel in distress. Albert Brooks is screen chomping as mob boss Bernie.

The entire supporting cast also knocks it out the park, Oscar Isaac, Ron Perlman, Christina Herdricks and Bryan Cranston offer the kind of support that not only holds the film together, but jettisons its end product into the stratosphere.

The script is brief and to the point, leaving a lot of the actual plot a visual feast, rather than mountains of clunky dialogue, although what dialogue is here, is extremely tight and on point. The visuals are without a doubt the films "creme de la creme", every shot is meticulously crafted, with eye piercing lighting, bold colours and smart framing that turns every sequence into an experience, rather than just the occasional visual flurry.

Refn's colour palette has always stuck out, due to him being colour blind, but Drive just looks utterly arresting, his use of shadow and colour is next level, using both to lay heavy emphasis on the tone of each scene.

Drive is lush and utterly unique and slap Cliff Martinez's score over the top, with thumping electronic beats, mixed with 80's synth pop and you have an audio visual delight. Drive goes against expectation, possibly why it still divides audiences, despite its violence and intensity, Drive never explodes in your face, there are no big stunts, massive explosions or gun toting maniacs, its so stripped back that what violence it does have works wonderfully, car chases feel tense, mostly because we see them from inside a car, the occasional gun shot is utterly devastating and any fist fighting is brief and life like, its a far cry from the rambunctious Jame Bond but its an entirely different entity altogether.

Drive isnt going to be everyone's cup of tea, however the people it does effect, it will stay with them for a very, very long time.