They don't get much better than this

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2011)

The Best Picture race has begun ... although I fear this one won't survive the Academy's final cut (I'd venture to say it's "too cool" for The Academy). Drive is a wonder to behold and watch.
Drive is a film about a driver who is a film stunt man and a random getaway driver for various people who needs his services for a short yet solid five minutes of work -- the film's opening cat-and-mouse scene sets the tone for what's to come. The Driver is played by Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Half Nelson, Crazy Stupid Love) and he is a man of few words. He appears to drive simply to have a purpose.
Driver soon meets a young mother, Irene(Carey Mulligan - Pride & Prejudice, An Education, Wall Street 2), who lives in his apartment building ... and the two become quasi-friends as they both tend to be guarded and rather quiet although their facial expressions and body language tell us everything we need to know about them. Driver quickly befriends her young son ... but their friendship becomes strained upon the arrival of his father/her husband, Standard, (Oscar Isaac - Robin Hood, Sucker Punch) ... a recovering criminal with ties to some total losers who don't want to allow him to exit/leave their line of work so that he can honestly provide for his family.
Believing that he has the ability to help Standard obtain a life of respectability, Driver sets out to help him on one final heist ... only things don't go as planned ... for anybody. Albert Brooks (Broadcast News, Mother) and Ron Perlman (City of Lost Children, Hellboy) play some fellow wannabe-thugs and Mad Men's Christina Hendricks shows up briefly as Blanche, a fellow co-hort in crime.
With a pulsating soundtrack (featuring some awesome songs!), the film comes alive and becomes ripe with feeling as Driver (himself) experiences a rebirth of feelings that had long been dormant. At times gentle and at time brutally violent ... Drive is an artistic triumph as it is a mesmerizing watch. Layered with metaphor (note Driver's jacket), superior lighting and sound editing, and an ingenious use of character names (Standard, Blanche, Irene means "peace" etc.), Drive is one of those RARE films that make you glad to be alive in this time of cinema.
Drive is one of the few films I have seen in recent years that remind you of life ... and what it means to feel and have a sense of worth and belonging. It does seem to be a film of few words ... but extra words were not necessary ... as Drive is alive. And thank God I am too.