Drive Review

“Drive” is nothing short of a masterpiece. A film that doesn’t fail to be what it
wants to be or fall into the status of just plain “art-house” or an “action flick.”
Nicolas Winding Refn creates a film that is both cinematic in the conventions of
mainstream Hollywood formula and of small independence freedom from restrictions or limits. This film is unpredictable and uncompromising to its characters. After viewing Drive, it’s hard to recover at what has been shown to you. In a way, the film is not only an entertaining and an amazing flick, but more of a love-letter to the great movies of the past. The film isn’t an homage or a tribute but it takes most of what we’ve seen in such movies like “Bullitt” or “Taxi Driver” and reinvigorating them into a pulp noir of a thriller. Nicolas Winding Refn is to be greatly commended for this brilliant work.

Ryan Gosling stars as The Driver (an homage to the Man With no Name Western films) who by day time works as a stuntman driver for action movies in Los Angeles and as a mechanic, but by night he secretly drives as a getaway car driver for criminals and thieves and helps them with transportation. However, as he soon starts to be infatuated by his next door neighbor Irene and her son (played by Carrey Mulligan and Kaden Leos) and soon becomes involved with a heist-gone-wrong, he starts to get involved with Bernie Rose (played by Albert Brooks) a loan shark gangster, who has put out a contract on him, which soon descends to mayhem and insanity.

Now before thinking, some may see that as a predictable, generic Hollywood formula that sounds too derivative of other better action thrillers. However, while it does play out like that, it is directed and acted to a point where it feels so refreshing and in a way it’s original. Ryan Gosling is incredible in this movie. This is unlike any character you have seen him do or even any character you may have seen in movies. The character he plays is literally a psychopath on the verge of snapping at someone whoever gets in his way. He hardly has any dialogue in the movie, yet, whenever he is on screen, you are mesmerized by his performance. Even the supporting cast is really great. Albert Brooks is hands-down my pick for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. He is amazing! In the beginning he's introduced as a joking, funny yet tough gang boss but then he soon descends into more of a psychopath like The Driver and it’s an amazing performance that is being talked about throughout the awards circuit. Carrey Mulligan is great too as the fragile yet protective sweet mother and even Bryan Cranston as The Driver’s mechanic boss.

The real standout however is the music and cinematography. It is absolutely gorgeous! Most of the film is shot at night and it looks beautiful to watch as The Driver drives through the streets of L.A. and even in daylight with its bright Technicolor feel to it. And the music has a cool 80’s vibe that almost feels nostalgic to other great 80’s films. It’s cool, its vibrant and it has a flair missing in most musical scores in films.
This is a near-perfect film. I can’t find a flaw in this. The acting and directing is terrific, the pacing is good and it’s not hard to follow. The one criticism people may find is that it’s not action oriented. And the marketing is very misleading. It doesn’t have that much action. Whatever action there is, it’s short, violent and no exploitative to a point it reminds us of a Hollywood blockbuster. It’s an independent art-house film with action in the background, but it is very good action. People may be relived to see this as new air to breathe in the lifeless genre of action flicks that are over saturated with explosions, gunfights and a hero versus villain face-off. This is not that type of film. However, for what it is, it exceeds at it and becomes something amazing that is hard to find these days.
5/5   By Amritpal Rai