Review of Drive (2011) by Polloshermanos — 21 Dec 2011

Easily one of the best films of 2011. The opening 5 minutes of Drive are simply extraordinary: zero music and virtually no dialogue, just the Driver outrunning the cops after a burglary. If you aren't instantly drawn in by the opening chase sequence, your favorite movie is most likely Transformers and you do not deserve to see the greatness this film beholds.

This raw and realistic film is falsely advertised by its trailers; they make it seem like a hardcore action flick, but it turns out to be an intensely character driven story with very minimal, but effective, dialogue that progresses the story at a continuously entertaining pace.

The cinematography is some of the best I've seen in years: it seems effortlessly smooth and endlessly creative. The plot is simple, but Refn's execution is, in part, what makes the film ultimately stand out.

Another crucial part to what makes this film so enticing is its ruthless depiction of violence. I KNOW that some (actually, a lot of) people are turned away, or dislike, Drive solely because of its graphic violence.

These people are dumb; IT'S A MOVIE (not real). The violence is as realistic as it gets, without being over-exaggerated to the point of blood spraying 10 feet into the air in all directions when someone gets stabbed.

There ARE some very graphic scenes, but I feel that it's a reflection of the characters (especially Albert Brook's and Ryan Gosling's characters). Most of the film is actually absent of action/violence, in which I was pleasantly surprised by.

It's probably a 75/25 split. Overall, if you have any appreciation of good film, you definitely need to see this film. It's amazing and should win a handful of Oscars.