There should be no doubt at this point that Ryan Gosling is this generation’s finest actor. This film could and probably would have been a total disaster without his casting. It is best described as a neo-noir minimalist thriller. Sound confusing? Well, that’s because this film is not easily definable. It does not fall for the usual Hollywood tricks, probably owing to Gosling’s strong hand in shaping it (according to Wikipedia, after he signed on Gosling was able to hand-pick the director; he went for a relatively unknown Danish guy lol). It is the story of The Driver, who is the epitome of the strong silent type. The Driver is never named.
He has a love affair, of sorts, with his neighbor. The love affair is never consummated, although they share a passionate kiss in an elevator – right before Gosling graphically stomps a guy’s head in. The title cards and credits are in hot pink and I was about 85 percent certain the film was scored by Vangelis. It wasn’t – but the synth heavy soundtrack and the title cards are straight out of the 80s (in a good way). I was expecting Anthony Michael Hall to make a cameo. There are some flashes of European art house influences, with impressionistic dissolves and frenetic cross cuts. The movie is slow; limited, terse dialogue; tension is built carefully and expertly, erupting in brief ultra violent flares of gore.
Considering the main character is a getaway driver, and the movie is called Drive, there are not that many chase scenes. In fact, there are only 2 – the one in the beginning, a carefully controlled sequence of dramatic tensioning which establishes the Driver as an almost superhuman force and the second and more involved one, which reminds you that the roots of the film go all the way back to Steve McQueen and Bullit. I hate car chase scenes. They are usually loaded with tricks, special fx, smash cuts, edited into little pieces of over stylized crap designed to toss the audience a cheap thrill and I find them lazy and boring. But these chase scenes were different. I found myself wondering why I was so into the chase scenes in this film, when usually I just tune out until the cars go rolling over one another and I know that lazy bit of filmmaking is over. It’s because of who The Driver is. It’s like his whole life is building up to these car chase scenes. It’s his sole purpose for existing. And because Gosling is such a monumental talent, his character breathes this life of cars and adrenaline and skill and makes it bleed through the screen. You want to see what the driver can do, because you are invested in this character and this chase like in virtually no other car chase you will see in a film.
The movie is stylish. It is brilliantly acted. And it subverts convention while still pretending to be a genre film. It is influenced by a lot of great films, but it doesn’t come off as a rip-off. It’s simply the next stage in the evolution of those films. Easily one of the best movies I have seen all year. I was surprised it was released in over 2,500 theatres though. This movie is way too smart and way too unconventional to be a mainstream success.
