Drive Review

"Drive" reviews

Movie

Drive

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2011-10-03 08:04:17

Rating

4/5

Provider

Review

The hype...

It's been generating a lot of buzz on the festival circuit, and even netted Nicholas Winding Refn the best director gong at Cannes. Now the stylish arthouse thriller starring Ryan Gosling as a stunt/getaway driver is pulling in to UK screens, and we couldn't be more excited.

The story...

In L.A., a man known to us only as Driver (Ryan Gosling) is the wheelman to hire for any job. Based in a garage run by hobbling old scheister Shannon (Bryan Cranston), he alternates between fixing cars, driving them in movies, and driving them for robbers in need of a getaway man. And now Shannon is gearing up to introduce him to the racing circuit, but not before courting investment from shady mobsters Bernie (Albert Rose) and Nino (Ron Perlman).

But life for the Driver becomes complicated when meets neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), a beautiful young mother who catches his eye. The pair hit it off, but her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) soon returns from prison and gets embroiled in some serious trouble.

Enter the Driver to try and clean up one heck of a mess. But can he succeed?

The breakdown...

Everything about this film oozes cool, from the retro '80s score to a sharply-dressed Ryan Gosling.

The visuals are so sumptuous and stylised that Nicholas Winding Refn's L.A. could be anywhere in the world, or even the Universe. It's just so unique, so otherwordly, that you cannot fail to be transported to another time and place.

Within this fantastical framework is built a strangely structured story that's sparse on dialogue and heavily populated with long stares and meaningful glances. The entire relationship between Gosling and Mulligan is entirely built on these stolen glances and prolonged eye contact.

It might be frustrating for fans of more traditional action films, but if you're a lover of style and willing to hand yourself over to this surreal world it's mind-blowingly cool. And nobody can pull it off as well as Refn's leading pairing.

This sparseness also means that the moments of action and violence punctuate the beautifully glossy environs with the devastating impact of a hammer blow. It's no surprise that Refn can do shocking violence given his back catalogue, which includes the provocative 'Bronson', but some of the scenes in 'Drive' sent us reeling.

Equally impressive are the chase scenes. Ditching Hollywood glamour, they cultivate a taut tension that is unlike any chase we've seen before. Gosling's Driver turns his vehicle into an extension of his body, one minute fleeing with the pace of a well-trained sprinter, the next hiding in the shadows like a canny cat burglar, all pieced together with an artful sense of style and flair.

The story itself retains all the edge and intrigue that you'd expect from an action flick with gangster conflicts at its core. Ron Perlman and Albert Rose are larger than life as chief agitators, and the ongoing war between the various factions never skimps on the adrenaline as it meanders its way to a satisfyingly brutal conclusion.

The verdict...

Fans of conventional action fare might find 'Drive' a little dense and frustrating in places, but everyone should be able to enjoy the thick slathering of sleek style Refn layers on top of his intriguing gangster pick. And adrenaline-junkies will relish the original take on car chases, and the sudden, sharp bursts of ultra-violence that spring from the screen with a sting in their tail.

Copyright © 2011.