Drive - Film Review

Since I started reviewing films, I have slowly but surely begun to grasp what I believe cinema truly means. It is not merely the acting out of a story, as theater can capture that, but it is a combination of acting, storytelling, cinematography, and sound design. This culmination of artistic nuances arguably makes cinema the highest artform, which may be why it has such a massive impact on pop culture. Of course, not every movie succeeds in blending all of these elements, and one could easily say that most films fall under this category. Those rare few that do succeed are truly special, and I'm proud to have gotten the chance to review more than a few of them. With this particular film, I'm happy to add it to that short list of masterpieces.  

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Where You Can Find It: I viewed this one on Amazon Video where it is available for rent/purchase.

General Information 
Drive is neo-noir crime drama film that was released on 16 September 2011. It was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and was adapted from the novel of the same name by James Sallis (Hossein Amini wrote the screenplay). From a financial perspective, Drive experienced a fairly successful release with an approximate $77 million haul at the box office with only a $15 million budget. It received a nomination for Best Sound Editing at the 2012 Academy Awards, and received a great deal of praise with IGN's Stephen Lambrecht's giving it a 5/5. It has a solid 78 Metascore on Metacritic, as well as an outstanding 93% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm honestly a bit disappointed by the Metascore for this film, and I kind of want to check out some of the negative reviews to see why they disliked this film so much.

The Story

The Driver (played by Ryan Gosling) is a soft-spoken mechanic that works part-time as a stunt driver for Hollywood movies during the day and as a getaway driver for criminals during the night. Upon moving to a new apartment, the Driver meets Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son, whom he quickly becomes attached to. Their relationship quickly takes an unexpected turn when Irene's husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), gets out of prison that leads the Driver into a high-stakes robbery where nothing is what it seems.

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The Driver lives up to his name

Something that's always bothered me about the more "artistic" films out there are that they frequently get so caught up in trying to convey a deeper meaning that the surface-level is completely neglected. I really appreciate Drive's story for the fact that there is both a deeper story, as well as an excellent surface story. On the top layer, this is a story about a criminal trying to protect the ones he cares about, while the deeper plot conveys a tale about a villain that wishes they could be the hero. Refn presents the fable of the scorpion and the frog and expands on that basic tale in spectacular fashion.

From a character perspective, the Driver is a fascinating protagonist as we continue to learn about how he operates. The story opens up with a pulse-pounding getaway through the shadowy streets of L.A. where we see that he's capable, but his interactions with Irene lull us into a sense of sympathy and comfort before being crudely dashed when we see just how brutish he can be. The famous elevator scene is outstanding in a lot of ways, but at least one aspect of it demonstrates how tender this particular character can be, only to immediately follow up with just how violent he can be as well.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

One of the things I adore most about this film is its intentional decision to show and not tell as much as possible. The Driver rarely speaks, but neither do most of the other characters. There are no lengthy exposition dumps, however there's always just enough for the viewer to comprehend each scene. To be clear: this isn't a quiet or simplistic film, however a great deal of what's being said is done via facial expressions and body language. We never hear grand proclamations of affection between Driver or Irene, however it's visible by how they look at each other and interact. These same expressions work just as well in solitary scenes too, like when we see Irene at a party or when Blanche (Christina Hendricks) goes to examine herself in a mirror at a motel. This direction style by Refn demonstrates that every scene has a purpose, which kept me engaged from beginning to end.

One of Refn's directorial flourishes that he's well-known for is his use of color and lighting. This style is highly present in his later works like Neon Demon, and it is especially prevalent in everything from set-design and costumes to even how the opening credits look. Crazily enough, this high degree of contrast is not entirely done out of artistic choice, but because Refn is color blind in regard to midtones. I find it quite impressive that Refn was able to turn his own disability into an asset for this film as it continues to hold a unique presentation.

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The color contrast is really noticeable throughout the film, which only magnifies its artistic style

Despite the opening sequence, this is a relatively relaxed film, however when action is required, Refn goes all out. Driving scenes are impressively shot, and yet not overindulgent, which is really interesting as Refn dislikes cars and doesn't even have a driver's license. Despite having the word "drive" as the title, this is nothing like car-focused films like Fast and the Furious or Gone in 60 Seconds. The few scenes that call for violence are incredibly brutal, but also carry the same level of purpose as the driving scenes. Just like the dialogue, all of the action has a specific reason that doesn't overstay its welcome.

The last thing worth mentioning is the awesome audio work from beginning to end. The soundtrack is really great and was what originally got me into listening to synthwave when I first saw this in 2013. College's "A Real Hero" really punctuates the end-credits, while Kavinsky's "Nightcall" is a perfect opener for the rest of the film. Outside of music, Cliff Martinez's background scores helped keep me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend getting the soundtrack for this movie if you're a music fan.

The Acting

Like Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio, I feel as though Ryan Gosling got kind of type cast as a bit of a heartthrob near the beginning of his career (especially after The Notebook), but I think this movie really helped him step out of that and reach his true potential. Gosling owns this role with a quiet intensity that I'm not sure many of his peers could pull off. I'm reminded of his future performance in Blade Runner 2049 and wouldn't at all be surprised if this film is why he was later cast for that movie.

An actor that stands out more and more with every viewing in this is Albert Brooks as the gangster, Bernie Rose. Considering he's more well known as a comedian and as the voice of a certain clownfish, he does an amazing job portraying a ruthless killer. I really enjoyed his exchanges with Gosling whenever the two shared the screen, and it makes me want to see him in more serious roles.

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Albert Brooks delivers an awesome performance in this

The rest of the supporting cast does an excellent job as well, and it's awesome seeing everyone bring their very best to this. Carey Mulligan elegantly sells Irene's thoughts without having to actually say much, while Oscar Isaac perfectly articulates Standard's desperate nature. I even really liked Ron Perlman in this, which surprises me as I generally find him to be pretty hit-or-miss.

The Best of the Best: Refn's signature color style combined with awesome sound editing.

The Worst of the Worst: Bernie Rose eating Chinese food at a pizzeria.

Calhooey Score: 10/10 - Outstanding

Would I Recommend?

5

Drive is a fascinating combination of style and storytelling that examines human nature and what it means to either struggle against this nature or whether to wholly embrace it. This film has a topnotch cast with incredible audio and some of the best cinematography of the 2010s. It is a film everyone should see at some point.

Spoiler Comments

• One of the early scenes I really liked was when Driver noticed Irene's car was broken down and then walked over to help her with the next scene immediately being in the elevator at the apartment building. No words are said, and yet the viewer has all the information they need to understand exactly what's happening.
• Another good example is when Nino gets killed. There are no screams, swears, or monologues. Nino runs into the ocean and Driver simply drowns him in silence.
• The tone in Standard's voice says everything when he first met Driver. It's incredible how good of a job Oscar Isaac did in this film considering he has such a small part.
• What's crazy is that I think everyone who watched this knew Standard was going to die, but yet I was just as surprised as Blanche when he got killed.
• I'm thinking Driver did not actually kiss Irene in the elevator before killing that assassin. I think this was something he wished he could've done and may symbolize him realizing he'll never have that type of relationship with her.
• A mistake I made when I first saw this movie was that I assumed Driver was the frog in the parable of the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion rides his back (as we see from his jacket), and this is mirrored in the aspect that he ferries criminals (aka scorpions) to safety. This most recent viewing changed that though when someone else observed that Driver is in fact the scorpion of this story. From that angle, this entire story changed for me and I can certainly appreciate it more now that I understand that.
• There's certainly something chilling about that rubber mask Driver puts on near the end.

References

(1) Drive. (2011). Drive film image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/.

(2) Molle, M. (n.d.). I drive gif. Pinterest. Retrieved from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/287948969896783051/.

(3) Hoberman, J. (2011, September 13). Driver and Irene image. Seattle Weekly. Retrieved from: https://www.seattleweekly.com/film/drive-ryan-gosling-as-chivalrous-psycho/.

(4) Lynn, M. (n.d.). Bernie Rose image. Pinterest. Retrieved from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/390687336403246169/.