Drive Review
Against all evidence I continue to misjudge Ryan Gosling.I see him starring in a film and I think "oh its the guy from the notebook trying to act hard". Then I look at his normal films and it seems that the Notebook was the odd one out and he usually occupies deranged roles in indie flicks. He returns again with somewhat of an indie flick but one that is crafted, acted and written beautifully.In almost all other reviews of this film there has been some reference to films of the 80s, especially to Bronson films and the 60s Steve McQueen film Bullitt.
The film follows a nameless driver who takes criminals to where they want to go in the night and is a professional stuntman in the day whilst also working in the garage, so the boy is busy. He is a quiet lad and he falls in love with his neighbour, then her husband gets out of prison and some bad ass mob s*** goes down.
The plot isn't important here, there is almost too much to talk about in this film for my meager review and i could write a whole essay on all the meanings and references throughout the film. The director Nicholas Winding Refn himself called it a modern day fairy tale where the lead character aids a damsel in distress and fights off the bad guys. In this way its pretty simplistic although the story does twist and turn a bit, but the way its made is awe-inspiring.
The film starts off with a ridiculously tense police chase where Gosling's "Driver" evades the cops expertly and ending with some of the best music applied to a movie. This then descends into a love story of sorts with possibly the least dialogue. There are moments where Gosling and Carey Mulligan's character simply stare at each other for elongated periods of time and in these scenes more emotion is expressed than in any romantic film in the past few years.
After this idyllic, almost dream-like sequence of events occurs the film kicks off. I mean, Jesus Christ Money Balls does it kick off. Before the third act rolled around I was pondering why this film got close to an 18 but by jove it really goes for that rating. Heads get shot, faces get stamped off and blood gets everywhere. I've focused on just Gosling's performance but the whole cast give some brilliant lessons in acting. The two mob bosses of Ron Perlman and Albert Brookes threaten to steal the show and its good to see Christina Hendricks (of Mad Men fame) in a small but integral part of a film. Bryan Cranston (Hal from Malcolm in the Middle) gives probably the second best performance as Driver's hapless, tragic boss who's character you really feel for throughout.
What more can I say without ruining it? Brilliant soundtrack, brilliant acting, brilliant nostalgia to a time before I was born even if the film is technically modern day and Ryan Gosling is going to be the next true bad-ass actor on the scene. He should be if this film is anything to go by. I give it 9 out of 10. Watch it
The film follows a nameless driver who takes criminals to where they want to go in the night and is a professional stuntman in the day whilst also working in the garage, so the boy is busy. He is a quiet lad and he falls in love with his neighbour, then her husband gets out of prison and some bad ass mob s*** goes down.
The plot isn't important here, there is almost too much to talk about in this film for my meager review and i could write a whole essay on all the meanings and references throughout the film. The director Nicholas Winding Refn himself called it a modern day fairy tale where the lead character aids a damsel in distress and fights off the bad guys. In this way its pretty simplistic although the story does twist and turn a bit, but the way its made is awe-inspiring.
The film starts off with a ridiculously tense police chase where Gosling's "Driver" evades the cops expertly and ending with some of the best music applied to a movie. This then descends into a love story of sorts with possibly the least dialogue. There are moments where Gosling and Carey Mulligan's character simply stare at each other for elongated periods of time and in these scenes more emotion is expressed than in any romantic film in the past few years.
After this idyllic, almost dream-like sequence of events occurs the film kicks off. I mean, Jesus Christ Money Balls does it kick off. Before the third act rolled around I was pondering why this film got close to an 18 but by jove it really goes for that rating. Heads get shot, faces get stamped off and blood gets everywhere. I've focused on just Gosling's performance but the whole cast give some brilliant lessons in acting. The two mob bosses of Ron Perlman and Albert Brookes threaten to steal the show and its good to see Christina Hendricks (of Mad Men fame) in a small but integral part of a film. Bryan Cranston (Hal from Malcolm in the Middle) gives probably the second best performance as Driver's hapless, tragic boss who's character you really feel for throughout.
What more can I say without ruining it? Brilliant soundtrack, brilliant acting, brilliant nostalgia to a time before I was born even if the film is technically modern day and Ryan Gosling is going to be the next true bad-ass actor on the scene. He should be if this film is anything to go by. I give it 9 out of 10. Watch it