As far as this review goes, I love this movie and didn’t really see anything that I disagreed with in the original review. I will say that I think the reason that I kept saying it wasn’t like other action-packed chase movies was probably due to the marketing for the film at the time.
Seeing trailers and TV spots for the movie before its release, the studio did seem to want to market it as more of an action-packed ride than it actually is, so I really wanted readers to know that while the movie was fantastic, it was not the film that the studios tried to sell and is really a psychological crime thriller with some action in it.
Beyond that, I do still recommend the movie and if you haven’t seen it, check it out!
THE ORIGINAL REVIEW
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, a filmmaker who has given audiences films such as his “Pusher” trilogy, “Bronson”, and “Valhalla Rising” has now given audiences what is arguably one of the best films of the year. First off, “Drive” is not an action-packed, Michael Bay inspired movie. That is surprisingly a breath of fresh air.
It tells the story of a man (Ryan Gosling) who is a stuntman by day and getaway driver by night. He has no name. He is simply the Driver and driving appears to be all that appeals to him. That is, until the audience meets his neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan). When he finally gets close to Irene, the Driver not only bonds with her but also her young son Benicio (Kaden Leos).
In the meantime, the Driver’s boss, Shannon (Bryan Cranston), is trying to build a race car team. He thinks the Driver is special and convinces crime boss Bernie Ross (Albert Brooks) to donate the funds for the race car. But soon, Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison and he owes people protection money from when he was locked up. To pay the debt, the criminals want Standard to pull off a heist.
All the Driver wants to do is drive until he meets Irene in "Drive".
After threatening Irene and Benicio, the Driver decides to help Standard with the heist as long as Irene and Benicio are never threatened again. Of course, the heist goes terribly wrong and the Driver finds himself on a bloody path in an attempt to save the woman he loves once and for all.
The film takes its cues from the likes of “Collateral” and the immortal classic “Bullitt”. For example, when the audience sees the shots from inside the front seat of the car with only the Driver’s eyes in the rearview, it is obvious that “Bullitt” was a major inspiration for the filmmakers. The tone and style of the film is not only influenced by Mann’s films and “Bullitt”, but it also has an ‘80s soundtrack that seems to be ripped straight out of the decade.
It should be noted at this point that the movie does not give audiences the action directly. It takes its time and like a brilliantly crafted thriller, scenes build up the intensity and right before the audience can’t take it anymore, the scene explodes into climactic moments of intense action or bloody brutality.
The first five minutes that open the movie foreshadow the tone for the rest of the movie. The Driver is on a job and instead of just outrunning the police, he also uses Los Angeles’ tangled web of streets against his pursuers. If someone wants a movie to get straight to the point, then he or she will be disappointed. It’s a mood-setting, psychological ride that sets up and then executes its scenes perfectly.
Gosling is powerful as the Driver because he knows the character he is playing. The Driver just wants to drive and is socially challenged. Even the Driver’s infatuation with Irene is something new to him and he doesn’t quite know what to do. Gosling also helps set the tone every time he clinches his hands around the steering wheel or some other object such as the handle of a hammer. This is exactly what the audience is doing to their armrests.
Another performance of note comes from Brooks as Bernie. Usually, audiences are used to seeing Brooks as a more comedic actor. Here, he is a cold-blooded yet conflicted monster. Bernie knows the simple solution to any problems he may have but thanks to his idiot partner’s (Ron Perlman) decisions, there is eventually no turning back. In these types of films, the villain usually has no redeeming factors. The fact that he does care about all the players involved to some degree makes him slightly more sympathetic.
The film could have been an action blockbuster with several car chases and amped up action, but that would have missed the point. Instead, “Drive” turns out to be one of the best films of the year.
