A round of applause

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2012)

I'm gonna do my best to keep it short and sweet with no spoilers. This film was absolutely superb. From the stoic performance of Ryan Gosling to the beautiful direction of Nicolas Winding Refn, I loved it all.
Winding Refn clearly worked hard to give this film a very potent 1980's atmosphere with the soundtrack and subtle inclusion of retro cars/wardrobes/etc. At the beginning of the film, I had no clue what the setting was until I saw a modern Chevrolet Impala. I almost got a Grand Theft Auto: Vice City vibe from it which, as a fan of the game, I enjoyed. His techniques in the direction of the film were very new to me and he utilized styles and angles I've never seen before. +1 for innovation.
Gosling, Mulligan, Brooks, etc. all give amazing performances and you develop a relationship with all of the characters very quickly, whether good or bad. Although, it is a bit odd seeing Ron Perlman play a hardcore mobster.
But keeping it short and sweet, I got a distinct Tarantino-esque feel from Drive with the long, draining pieces of dialogue and short spurts of brutal violence. For this reason, I could understand why people hate the film. It takes a lot out of you and you have to be ready to watch it. That being said, I'm a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino and his style of direction. Winding Refn's style is similar but not quite so don't go into this expecting to see a B-version of Reservoir Dogs or something.
All in all, the film is beautiful. I now know why it got a 15-minute round of applause from the Cannes audience. This is a brilliant movie and I could watch it over and over again. It gets a 9/10 from me.