One of the best films of the decade

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2015)

Nicolas Winding Refn's hyper stylized vision, Ryan Gosling's darkly timid hero, Newton Thomas Sigel's flawless cinematography, these are the key components to Drive that make it one of the best films of the decade. Drive tells the story of a mysterious and nameless hero who is embroiled with the underbelly of the LA mob all while falling in love with his neighbor. In a nut shell, this is two films in one. The first half of the film focuses on Driver's relationship with Irene (Carey Mulligan) while the second half is a livewire crime thriller that never lets up. The beauty about this is Refn strikes the perfect balance between telling the love story and telling the real story, this setting up motive after motive in a grand finale that is unforgettable. There isn't a "strongest" player here, everyone involved, both the actors and the crew, are at the top of their game. Some of which have yet to achieve this level of greatness even four years later. Ryan Gosling delivers a performance likened to De Niro's Travis Bickle. He is quiet and timid but taking one look at him, you can tell that there is a rage building up in him. Gosling does an amazing job in this role and its hard to take your eyes off the screen with a performance like that. The supporting roles are equally colorful, Ron Perlman, Albert Brookes, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Oscar Issac are all magnificent here. An especially excellent turn by Albert Brookes makes him one of the most memorable villains in a crime film. Bernie Rose is evil, manipulative and psychotic but Brookes plays him with a certain sense of entitlement that makes it hard for you too look at him for too long because you're that afraid of what he might do next. Refn plays with silence much like Stanley Kubrick and some scenes even feature a Kubrick-ian feel to it all, it is engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable. Overall, Drive is a modern masterpiece that is beautifully shot, excellently acted and an all around amazing film.