Movie Review : Drive (2011)
Country:
USA
Recognizable Faces:
Ryan Gosling
Carey Mulligan
Ron Perlman
Bryan Cranston
Christina Hendricks
Directed By:
Nicolas Winding Refn
Yesterday, I went to the movies for the first time in over a year, to see Nicolas Winding Refn's DRIVE. It's my third Refn movie and quite frankly, after Valhalla Rising, I wasn't too crazy about watching anything else from him. But DRIVE had something going on for itself. It's an adaptation of James Sallis' noir novel of the same name. It's been awfully successful since it's been doing the festivals run, even winning the Palme D'Or at Cannes, so I had to give it a go. Refn has been ripping off legendary directors in the past, but this seemed to be a genuine effort and the guy isn't scared to get his hands dirty if needed. The result? A bulldozer of a movie. DRIVE is not only an amazing film noir, it's also a great movie that fills the gap between the genre clichés and high art. It's an action movie yes, but it's beautifully shot without having an overbearing directorial presence and it doesn't take you for an idiot.
Ryan Gosling plays "the driver" (really, he's never named). He's a tough youth with an obviously loaded past. He's working in a garage for his friend Shannon (Cranston), who knows all the angles of the cars business and hooks him up with stunt driving gigs. At night, the nameless driver offers his services as a getaway man for bank heists. When his neighbor Irene (Mulligan) breaks his solitude and mirrors a better life for him, his stone-cold rationality takes a hit. Soon, he gets very fond of Irene and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos). When her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) gets out of jail, their platonic honeymoon is over. Not only it is over, but Irene's life is in danger. Standard owes protection money to some guys in prison and they want him to stick up a pawn shop to cover his debt. Concerned with Irene and Benicio's well-being, the nameless driver offers his services to help. But the heart is a bad advocate in crime. It's not going to lead you anywhere safe.
Those who associate Ryan Gosling's name with THE NOTEBOOK, please disregard your own judgments. He NAILS his role in DRIVE. He has very few lines of dialog and yet, through body language he transmits the heavy emotional background of his characters. He doesn't talk when he should, he smiles uncomfortably in happy moments and under stress, the world adjust to his speed. I'm not comparing both performances, but the last time I've seen an actor pull this off, it was Toshiro Mifune in THE SEVEN SAMURAIS. Of course, Nicolas Winding Refn had a lot to do with it. He presents his characters, portraits them in a certain light, making use of close-ups and playing with light and sound in a very creative, yet efficient way. For example, the beauty of Carey Mulligan has eluded me more often than not, but Refn makes her beautiful with his camera. His shots are a warm,caressing and idealizing embrace, like the gaze of his main character.
DRIVE has many unforgettable scenes, that will stick with you for years and become a part of your cinematographic culture. The first bank heist, the very beginning of the movie is a study in tension and use of light and sound. The police are often just blips and sounds and the driver figures a way out of the law enforcement maze for his client. There is another scene, which for me embodies the very spirit of noir, where Ryan Gosling and Ron Perlman go head to head (not gonna say more, it was bizarre, bleak, creepy and beautiful). By the way, it was so good to see Perlman casted as something else than "gentle giant" or "giant misfit". He can camp a local mobster with great efficiency. By the way, those who don't have a stomach for gore, be warned. Gosling's character has a very organic way of dealing with his enemies. I don't mind gore, but I'm no hound for it and I thought the bloody scene were pulled off brilliantly. There's more than enough, yet not more than necessary.
I loved every single second, every frame of DRIVE, but there was a huge problem that jarred me out of my state of suspension-of-disbelief a few times. The soundtrack SUCKS. I know it's supposed to fit the eighties feeling of the movie, but geeze. Eighties had good songs too. A Flock Of Seagulls, Phil Collins, New Order...they're nowhere near this film. Most songs sound like a spinoff of the unbearable TAKE MY BREATH AWAY from TOP GUN's score. It's too bad because the ambient music isn't bad. When it only serves to highlight the tension or the emotion in a scene, it's pulled off well. But the SONGS. They hurt my ears and made me wish I was deaf for a moment. But that's minor. DRIVE is a smart, beautiful and tough movie. It's a lesson to all those idiots that have been producing those "chaos cinema" movies that look like a two hours blur. DRIVE is incredibly cool, it's noir and it's also a beautiful work of art. Mr. Winding Refn, that was by far your best film.
9.1/10
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