It's safe to say that it's not every day that a film like Drive comes along. Sure, films that sound like the synopsis come along every day, they are a dime a dozen, but it's been a long time since I've seen a film about something so (relatively) simple done with such style.
Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stuntman (and I didn't even notice his character didn't have a name, that's how captivated I was by the film) who has a job on the side as a getaway driver, as he can navigate the roads of Los Angeles like no other. He also strikes up a 'friendship' with his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), and ends up being the wheelman for a pawn shop heist that her recently freed-from-jail husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) has been caught up in. This all ends up with 'The Driver' having a contract put out on him.
As I mentioned at the start, it's not a hugely original story, but the way it is told is stunning, and makes this 'simple story' one of the most engaging films I have seen this year.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn (whose only other work I have seen was the confusing, yet brilliantly acted Bronson) says a lot of influence for this film comes from classics like 'Bullitt' and 'The Day Of The Locust', but even if that's the case, I see a lot more influences than just those movies.
The slow pace of the film, with the sudden bursts of action and violence scream Michael Mann to me, particularly Manhunter, which may not be thematically similar, but contain the same deliberate pacing and 1980's feel.
Now when I say 1980's feel, don't go running for the hills, I'm talking about films like William Friedkin's To Live And Die In L.A. Of course, that shares its setting with Drive, but there's so much more to the comparisons than that.
To Live And Die In L.A. and Manhunter share the same cool and deliberate vibe with Drive (even though Drive is set in the present day), right down to the titles and the synth soundtrack. That's high praise indeed, as both films mentioned there are classics in my eyes.
With that vibe and style comes violence, and Drive does not shy away from that at all. The first truly violent moment in the film (a gunshot), elicited such a reaction with the audience I saw it with, you'd have thought we were seeing a horror film.
And that's a comparison I can make to the rest of the violence in the film. I've not seen many films that aren't horrors with this kind of level of brutality. And it's made all the more potent with the slow, gradual pace of the film, and it's never done needlessly either, when it so easily could have been. In fact, one of the best, and most tender and romantic moments in the film, is immediately followed by the most brutal and it works perfectly.
As a side note, when I went to see it, a family actually walked out of the cinema. Parents and a teenage boy (who must have been under the certificate age of 18), left about half an hour before the end. If you need telling by this point, Drive is not exactly a family night out kind of film.
Ryan Gosling is superb as the nameless Driver, remaining mostly stoic throughout, breaking to occasionally have a flicker of a smile form, or when he loses his patience, and whilst he never really says too much, he's a character the viewer can warm to.
He is backed up by a fantastic cast, including three American T.V. stalwarts who really don't appear in enough films, and should. Bryan Cranston plays Shannon, the Driver's mechanic, employer and apparently, only friend. Shannon cuts a rather pathetic character, already stung once by the mob, now attempting to borrow more money to finance a racing career for the Driver. Cranston is superb with this kind of role, having played a character in a desperate situation to perfection in the superb series Breaking Bad.
The chief mob character in the film is Nino (Ron Perlman, Sons Of Anarchy), an imposing guy, who again, is a character right up the alley of the actor playing him. Perlman is his usual gruff and intimidating self, but there's not much about his character given to the audience, save a superb scene, where he is seen through a window laughing hysterically, while a lady friend stands next to him, bored senseless. No words are uttered, but it tells you so much more than any dialogue could.
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) also has a small role as Blanche, who is involved in the pawn shop robbery mentioned earlier. It's more a cameo than anything, although she is heavily advertised as being in the film.
Also worthy of a mention is the brilliant Albert Brooks as Shannon's mob contact Bernie Rose. I have never seen a bad Albert Brooks performance, and this is another fantastic one. The guy simply isn't in enough films.
Everything about Drive blew me away, from the performances, to how it was shot, to the music. Films like these in this day and age are a total one-off, and cannot be repeated, no matter who tries it (and mark my words, someone will.) The whole film is effortlessly cool, and, dare I say it, a modern classic.
*****
A very strong contender for film of the year, Drive is a cool, stylish, brutal and touching film that reminds you of some of the great films of yester-year. I implore you to check it out.
