Drive Review

Drive is the classiest action movie you’ll see all year. The trailers make it out to be in the same vein as The Fast and the Furious, while in reality it works as a deconstruction of its genre, having more in common with films like Taxi Driver. The action sequences are few and far between, but when they occur, the impact is unrelenting. Violence isn’t shown as glorified fun, but instead as the shocking and uncomfortable force that is really is. It comes as no surprise to find out that Nicholas Winding Refn called up Gaspar Noé for advice regarding a particularly brutal scene in an elevator.

The plot follows an unnamed protagonist who splits his work hours between movie stunt driving and operating as a getaway for crimes. The driver starts a relationship with his neighbour, Irene, and her son, which becomes complicated when her husband, Standard, returns home from prison. The driver helps Standard on a pawn shop robbery in order to clear debts he accrued while in prison. From there, various double-crosses send the story down an increasingly destructive path.

Ryan Gosling is perfect as the driver. His reserved performance is reminiscent of characters such as Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name. His stoicism makes the character all the more frightening when he erupts into violence. You get the impression that the driver just isn’t meant to exist in our world. In fact, his behaviour is similar to that of a knight’s from a fairytale. His relationship with the woman is so chaste that it becomes strangely sexless. They do little more than hold hands up until the point when the driver kisses her “goodbye,” ending their companionship. Furthermore, he jumps at the chance to valiantly help out her husband, who actually winds up being a pretty decent guy who was just caught up in a bad situation. Other standout performances are given by Bryan Cranston as a perpetually down on his luck garage owner, Ron Perlman as a bombastic Jewish mobster, and Albert Brooks as his softer spoken, more dangerous partner.

The movie looks and sounds amazing. The soundtrack is full of pulsing electronic tracks, giving the movie a distinctively retro feel. Like the driver himself, the music sounds organic while retaining a somewhat unnatural quality. In particular, College’s “A Real Hero” does this. The lyrics, “real human being, and a real hero,” feel oddly forced, repeated like a litany for a sociopath trying to convince themselves that they’re normal and a good person, however the song is played when the driver appears to be at his most emotionally comfortable. Other time the driver seems haunted, which the film’s score does a perfect job in mirroring. The camera work is also good at this, switching between quick cuts and long ones that linger too long on a subject, creating an unsettling feeling of tension.

There are a few points where the film seems to drag out, but overall the decompressed presentation works to its benefit. The biggest missed opportunity is that Christina Hendricks feels woefully underutilized in her role. However, Drive is a powerful film full of brilliant performances that far outweigh the negative aspects. It’s a good bet that this film will wind up earning some nods at the Oscars, so make sure to check out Drive.