A sexy cool piece of 80s chic

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2011)

There seems to be a pattern emerging from Hollywood for the hits of the 80's to be remade with 'The Karate Kid', 'Wall Street', 'Tron' and 'Conan' being rolled out and 'Footloose', 'Ghostbusters', 'Robocop', 'Top Gun' and a 'Blade Runner' prequel up and coming and although not a re-make, 'Drive' has its heart and soul firmly rooted in the early films of Michael Mann, Walter Hill, William Friedkin et al à la 'Miami Vice', 'Manhunter' and 'To Live and Die in L.A.' As you nestle down into your cinema seat the screen begins to thrum with the narco synth-pop sound of 'Tick of the Clock' by the Chromatics and coupled with the stunning cinematography of Newton Thomas Sigel showing Los Angeles in its full blazing glory as a neon lit night time fantasy scape the effect cannot fail to impress. Yes, this technique of filming cityscapes may be a well trodden one but trust me, nobody has done it better – you'll be quietly mouthing 'Wow' as L.A. looks at once familiar, yet also new as if it had been coated with a very bright sheen of glossy paint, metallic of course. By the time the titles roll up in deep pink after the stirring audio-visual preamble, the effect that you are watching an 80s throwback is complete.
The film centres around the relationship between a mechanic-cum-stunt car driver (Ryan Gosling's take on the 'Man With No Name' with Chow Yun-Fat's tooth-pick sensibilities in 'Hard Boiled') who falls in love with a single mother (Irene played by Carey Mulligan) whose Latino husband is in prison on unspecified crimes. When he is released from incarceration he is beaten up by goons because of his refusal to do another job as a way of repaying protection money to a gang boss from his time in prison. Seeing the results of this beating the driver offers to help him hold up a pawn shop as the getaway driver doing what he does best – drive – as a way of protecting the single mother and her child to whom he has now built up a strong attraction before the untimely release of her husband (the director works hard at not making him a two dimensional cartoon character). Alas, things don't go quite according to plan which kicks in the second act of the story with the driver going on a bloody rampage to save the woman he loves from the mysterious 'Mr Big'. An adjunct to the story is the driver's imminent promotion to a stock car driver courtesy of his friend's machinations (a garage owner played by Bryan Cranston) and the hefty sponsorship of a local crime boss (deftly played by Albert Brooks and all the more chilling for his ordinary everyman looks). Both these stories dovetail into the climatic showdown at the end of the film. It is here that you are gripping the edge of your seat and rooting for the hero, the driver...
Legend has it that Gosling handpicked Nicholas Winding Refn as the director and in doing so what could have been another ho hum actioner has been turned into an existential art house thriller, although the film beggars easy categorisation. Other critics may refer to Refn's work on 'Bronson' as the provenance of the film's sensibilities, but really his superb 'Valhalla Rising' (another existential piece on the study and impact of violence) is more apt. And in this aspect of the film Gosling is surprisingly well cast. The actor's slight frame and build is clearly a counterpoint to the brutish power, physicality and menace of Mads Mikkelson in 'Valhalla Rising', yet both are equally effective in the art of violence which gives the film its visceral and bloody thrills. In a key scene the rise and fall of Gosling's back in melody with his heavy breathing as a result of recent carnage, set against the embroidered picture of a scorpion on the back of his jacket tells the story of the driver's true nature and the tale of the scorpion and the frog. Here, dealing out death and destruction is more about steely nerve and determination as it is about power, strength and size. Gosling doesn't even carry a gun for Christ's sake!
The film has its flaws; the Mulligan character is underwritten and for a man as introspective and taciturn as the driver, it is not clear why he suddenly makes a connection with a single mother and falls in love. Moreover, for a film entitled 'Drive' I would have expected a little more driving than the one car chase we are treated to and wanting more. Still, the film is certainly one of the best examples of 80s chic that Hollywood is currently mining with varying degrees of success. My over-ridding memory of the film? Sexy-cool – go and see it!