Drive Movie Review

Drive Review

By Jose

Plot:

A Hollywood stunt-driver (Ryan Gosling), who moonlights as a getaway driver, falls for a young mother- Irene (Carey Mulligan), whose husband, Standard (Oscar Issacs) has just gotten out of jail. When Irene and her son are threatened, the driver and Standard are forced to pull off a daring daytime robbery. When the job goes south, the driver finds himself in the cross-hairs of a mobster (Ron Perlman) and his vicious associate (Albert Brooks).

Cast:

Carey Mulligan, Ryan Gosling, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks

Review:

I could not imagine myself fully enjoying a car/action movie for more than being just that. Yet Drive went beyond that and then some.

We are thrown into the life of a stunt car driver (Gosling) who also lends his talents as a getaway driver. Who falls for Irene (Mulligan) and her young son. And gets involved in a heist that goes horribly wrong. You would think that just by reading that it sounds like Drive is a typical action movie. But it is not. It is how Drive unfolds on the screen and the interactions between the cast is what makes Drive a great movie.

The opening credits are pink and the music is reminiscent of the 80’s pop music scene. Gosling’s nameless characters scorpion jacket and driver gloves exudes this coolness. But it is his quietness that speaks volumes. He speaks little yet you pay attention to each word. You end up just watching him and his face and eyes. Once he meets Irene, played by the wonderful Carey Mulligan, we see him loosen up a bit. But not by much. He and Irene share the quiet moments or looking at each other and driving together. Slight touches here and there. What many would consider awkward silence screams out. No words are needed. We understand and fill in the dialogue in our heads, even though it is not needed. Gosling’s character is very noble and respectful to Irene and her son and also to his down on his luck boss played by Bryan Cranston. It is not until a bit into the movie where we see another side of our Drives character.

It starts at a diner where a man comes up to our the Driver and starts talking about a previous getaway. Gosling just looks up from eating his pie and flat out threatens the guy, telling to walk away before getting his teeth kicked down his throat. And here is where we start to see the other more violent side of our Driver. Once the heist goes wrong and he sees himself set up to take a huge fall our Driver takes the initiative to seek out to fix it. But after a failed attack in a hotel room, where our hero stabs and guy with a shower rod and then proceeds to shoot the other with a shotgun, it will not be as easy. The Driver visit’s a strip club with a hammer and then smashes the hand of a lackey to get information and makes him swallow the bullet that was given as a threat to Irene’s young son.

There is a scene in a elevator where we see both sides of the Drivers character in full force and done so damn well. He is attempting to tell Irene what is happening and what she should do when they enter the elevator and there is a man there that was sent to kill Irene and her son. The Driver realizes this and what happens next it truly some great film making. Gosling’s character moves his arm back and guides Irene behind him and over. He looks back and turn to face her and kisses her passionately. They stop, look in each others eyes. He turns and then attacks the guy. He then gets him to the ground and proceeds to smash his head in with his foot. Love transitioning into violence in fluid motion. It was so great to see.

I want to mention how great Albert Brooks was playing the villain. He did a great job with it too. It was a normal psychotic villain either. Just a normal bad guy who would do anything to protect what is his. Stabbing and killing the mechanic and then later trying to kill our Driver. Brooks did a great job. Also the music needs to be mentioned again because it was so good. It fit the movie and became a character on it’s own.

Final Thoughts:

Drive is not your typical movie and I am glad that it wasn’t. It was better than that. The Driver was an amazing character brought to life by the incredible Ryan Gosling. Then you add the quietness and silence that left you depending on just the characters interactions and looks and touches. And then the soundtrack. Great and truly well done movie.

Ratings: 5 out of 5