Short(ish) review #2

Drive (2011) - "Get in. Get out. Get away."

When I first saw the poster for this film, I didn't know what to expect from it, so I unfairly didn't give it the credit or attention it deserved. Then I heard positive things about it and saw it get nominated at the BAFTAs for a brace of awards. I therefore took the plunge and decided to buy it on DVD. And, like Sherlock Holmes and Kick-Ass, I was pleasantly surprised with it. I was wrong to give it the cold shoulder.

The main character is simply know as the Driver (Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine and The Ides of March)), who by day works part time as a stunt driver on movies and a mechanic (although he is also lined up to be a racing driver). By night, he's a getaway driver. He soon takes an affection to his new neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan (An Education and Shame)) and her son. However, her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) returns home after a spell in prison, only to find out he owes a group of mobsters money. The Driver decides to help him, but the heist goes wrong and he winds up with the money.

Ryan Gosling's character is someone who keeps himself to himself but is also psychotic, very much in the same way as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. However, we never learn the real name of the Driver. Ryan Gosling does a brilliant performance as someone who doesn't say much or show his emotions. He is also very precise when it comes to being a getaway driver; he will wait for five minutes whilst you're doing the job and anything outside the five minutes, that's your concern. Carey Mulligan gives a great supporting performance. Director Nic Winding Refn decided to cast her because she reminded him of Molly Ringwald and he always wanted to remake the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles. There are also notable supporting performances from Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad), Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks.

It is no surprise that the film has an 18 certificate - "contains strong gory violence". There is a lot of blood in this film, almost as much as in a Quentin Tarantino film. However, this should come as no surprise if you are familiar with some of Nic Winding Refn previous works, including the Pusher trilogy, Bronson and Valhalla Rising. There is a scene in which Ryan Gosling beats a guy to death in an elevator and Albert Brooks stabs somebody to death with a knife and fork. If you are squeamish, you may want to look away at those points.

Drive was only nominated for one Academy Award, Best Sound Editing, losing out to Martin's Scorsese's Hugo. How on Earth did this commercially and critically successful film miss out on a nomination for Best Picture to "Extremely Long and Incredibly Crass" and The Tree of Life. What's worse is the fact Transformers: Dark of the Moon received more nominations. Just because a film gets an Academy Award nomination doesn't mean it's any good. Apart from its acknowledgement at the BAFTAs, Nic Winding Refn won the award for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. The soundtrack to the film is very reminiscent of the 1980s, with its retro feel and use of synthesizers. It is worth a listen.

There are rumours of a sequel called Driven, as there is a second book to the original novel inspired the film, written by James Sallis. Nic Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling have expressed some interest in this, but you (the audience) would not want to see the same movie again. If there is to to be a second movie, it has a lot to live up to...