Drive

Welcome to another episode Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Drive.

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.

Written by Hossein Amini.

Based on the book "Drive" written by James Sallis.

Review #139

MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal bloody violence, language and some nudity.

Runtime: 140 min

Cast

Ryan Gosling ...Driver

Carey Mulligan ...Irene

Bryan Cranston ...Shannon

Albert Brooks ...Bernie Rose

Oscar Isaac ...Standard

Christina Hendricks ...Blanche

Ron Perlman ...Nino

It's very rare in the movie world, especially in an action/thriller film that the main character who's playing a villain is viewed more like the hero. It's a seldom used tactic but if executed properly it can become a very satisfying experience.

Drive does that and then some.

 Plot 

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong. 

How does the film pull off the bait and switch I just described? The answer lies with two words. Ryan Gosling. His performance as the driver was so steely and mysterious that you instantly forget that he's a bona fide 100% criminal. It's also because of this that many complaints have been voiced about the film's ending. I'll get to that later. Gosling was not plagued with a lot of dialogue so he was forced to express more facially and through his icy glares.

Normally a character performing like that signals a severe lack of writing. In this case, Gosling's driver was perfectly balanced between his world of comfortable silence and the everyday world. It also magnified the mind numbing mystery behind his character. You have little to no idea who he is, where he comes from or why he's alone.

This too was a fantastic aspect to his character and the film. You as the audience are forced to draw your own conclusions about the driver. It brings a different perspective to the thinking man's movie. Your assumptions of the driver will alter your view on the film. Who you think he is or what his endgame can provide an insight that historically never exists in films of this genre. There is of course a flip side to this coin. All the things I just mentioned that made the film so enjoyable for me and very easily backfire and piss a lot of people off. Some people don't want to be shrouded in mystery when they feel it doesn't properly navigate through the story. That's why it's a risky venture.

To each his own I guess.

Moving on to the rest of the cast which was exceptional. Carey Mulligan was so sweet yet carried just the right amount of sexuality to remind you why the driver falls for her. Bryan Cranston does a great job as the driver's right hand man so to speak. He's getting more film gigs and that's a good thing. He needs to have more meaty roles though. His talent is too good to waste on secondary characters. If you've seen him in Breaking Bad then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

All Hail Walter White!

Finishing up the main players is Albert Brooks as Bernie. I initially thought he wouldn't make a convincing bad guy but he pulls it off nicely. There was a quiet psychosis about him. Very similar to the driver only with a little more volume since he didn't talk much. Bottom line the cast all did their part to make this film as strong as it was.

Now on to the film's ending. I've read other reviews and heard people's comments about the film and for the most part they all felt the same way I do with the end being the one exception. So to those who didn't like how Drive ended allow me to toss this question at you.

What else did you expect?

I promise I will not give away the ending but remember what I said earlier. Despite the heroic things he does in the film the driver is a BAD GUY! He's the film's main villain. Now some of you may debate this but I'm sorry.

It's a fact.

The driver was by no means a saint and none of us should be absolving him of his sins just because he does something heroic. This goes back to what I was talking about the rarity of films that have a villain become somebody you root for. Also you have to remember the mystery surrounding his character. It only makes perfect sense to end the film the way it did. It coincides with the make up of his character. Refn rolled the dice with how he was going to present the driver and for me it was stellar.

On a quick ratings note. The film's violence is very very intense and blood heavy so be forewarned.

On the 5 star scale. Drive gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Moneyball.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"