Review: Drive

Ok, I have to mention that I actually saw this last week, meant to post this last Monday, but a case of the laziness got the better of me. That being said, here is my review of Drive (gee, I wonder what it is about)...

It's nighttime in L.A., the games about over, everyone's ready to turn in, time to do the heist. The thing is, though, we are not interested in the heist, we are here for the escape, which in its own merit is half the thrill of it all too (whether or not you complete your job is one thing, how your getting out of there is another). It is through this, and a previous conversation over the phone, that we meet our Driver (Ryan Gosling). Apart from being called kid by others, we never truly get his name. Already we are thinking "The Man with No Name," he's cool, slick, and knows what he's doing. He's the man who gets you to where you need to be, or better yet, how you want to get away. It is through this finely directed/edited first section of the film that we get the gist of the kind of person Ryan Gosling's character is like.

This isn't the only job he has, he actually has three when you mention it. He works as a stunt driver as well as a mechanic working for Shannon (Bryan Cranston, whose character has much more depth than one would think). Shannon is the kind of man who tries his best for the kid, even if it doesn't work out, and he definitely has a past of his own where mistakes have riddled it time and time again. It is through Shannon that the driver meets Bernie Rose (Albert "Hank Scorpio" Brooks, in quite a departure for his sort of film/tv background). They start a deal that could be huge for everyone involved.

We are also introduced to a young mother, Irene (Carey Mulligan), who lives in the same apartment as the driver. We definitely see a connection between the two, but things get a little complicated. Her husband is getting released early, so we already believe something will come of the relationship between the driver and Irene, like it always does. The shocker, however, is that they are actually cool with each other. In fact, the man asks for the driver's assistance in a job that seems simple, but through some double crossing, the stories of all those involved will become connected in ways nobody wanted to, and no one is safe.

Drive isn't the independent film I was expecting, its rather graphic. There are scenes where I was a little shaken even, for surprise reasons and because its quite intense. For an independent film to achieve this is no small feet, so its got that going for it. The acting, however, carries the film in a way that its hard not to reccomend this film. Everyone brings there A-game, particularly Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks (I have my fingers crossed for an Oscar nomination for the latter). The story is simple enough for anyone to follow, giving the actors room to bring their A-game to the material, which they do in spades. Director Nicholas Winding Refn has gained acclaim in his native Denmark for the acclaimed Pusher trilogy (I haven't seen them yet, but they are on my list), and this film brings him to the international spotlight and I think he is a name we won't soon forget. Drive isn't quite the awards film many, including myself, should be, mostly due to the graphic violence. Needless to say, this is quite an accomplishment for an independent film, so I am not complaining.

(Note: I have slowly grown tired of the letter rating, cause I've come to think of it as a bad medium of rating between those I like and those I don't, so I am going to follow in the footsteps of the great Roger Ebert and do the four star meter)

Rating: *** 1/2