Drive

Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman

Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
Scr. Hossein Amini (based on book of same name by James Sallis)

It’s a little like something I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe Lost in Translation, but with even less dialogue, much more violence and no Bill Murray. Or maybe like The Machinist, but with a healthier leading man and not nearly as surreal. Whatever it is, I can’t really decide whether I liked it or not. On the other hand, I’m not sure Drive is a movie you’re supposed to “like”. Sure, you’ll read about the bursts of violence that I think some will find too hard to stomach. But this isn’t a movie about violence. It’s about something else. It’s about putting things right.

Ryan Gosling plays a mechanic and stunt driver by day (his character has no name, simply credited as Driver), and a getaway driver by night. He lives alone, doesn’t talk much and, you guessed it, drives like he was born to. Striking up a friendship with young mother Irene (Mulligan) and her son who live next door, the Driver finds himself dragged into her ex-con husband’s shady past when he agrees to help him out in a heist. As you can imagine, it all goes horribly wrong and the Driver must do everything he can to protect Irene and her son. There’s more to the story than meets the eye and I have to admit that impressed me, what with such little dialogue and such slow burn mood-setting.

I’m not sure what genre exactly this movie falls into. For my money, it’s kind of a horror. Not one with scary monsters or chainsaw-wielding madmen. But there is horror nonetheless and it creeps up on you, seeps into your bones and lingers long after the credits have rolled. And, in this way, Drive feels much more akin to The Thing than to a crime thriller. Refn is defying genres and asking his audiences to simply keep up.

Of course all of this creepiness and atmosphere and tension relies heavily on a cast who gets it. Gosling certainly does. He’s been in his share of quirky and challenging films, but Drive was surely a whole different kettle of fish for him. He is outstanding. Understated, sure, menacing, innocent, worldly, true and so much more. And when that vein pulses in his forehead and he turns on the violence, boy, I was scared. Mulligan is quietly compelling. Cranston gives a great turn as the Driver’s boss, a broken yet hopeful man. Perlman, as gangster Nino, is rough and horrid and wonderful. Brooks gives a masterful turn as gangster Bernie Rose – charismatic and chilling, a brilliant combo.

Drive is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea – it’s a moody outing. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of people to whom I would recommend this film. The critical acclaim and the stellar cast are not enough to mitigate what is a decidedly violent film. I don’t think I would see it again. But that feeling it left me with – completely freaked out in the most menacing way – was well worth the price of admission.

--------------------------

Driver: If I drive for you, you get your money. That's a guarantee. Tell me where we start, where we're going and where we're going afterwards, I give you five minutes when you get there. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours, no matter what. Anything a minute either side of that and you're on your own. I don't sit in while you're running it down. I don't carry a gun. I drive.