Go for a ride!

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2011)

On the surface this is an action-drama, heist-gone-wrong film. Beneath the surface in the night time of down town LA, we meet a driver. The scene opens with a man (Ryan Gosling) dictating his terms over the phone with a calm assured tone and we can gather from this he's a no-nonsense, no questions asked type of guy. He, is a getaway driver. He is highly intelligent in his field and in constant control of his emotions even when under pressure. By day, we see the protagonist again driving a car but this time as a Hollywood stunt driver and this is all we really get know about our lead. No name, no family, no explanation of why, where, when and how he is what he is; he's just a driver who becomes an enigma with the more we learn about others and the less we learn about him.
The film is a slow burn. By this I don't mean it takes a while to get good, i mean that the pace is not rushed, there is the constant intense heat throughout, ensuring that the finished article is cooked to its fullest. This, is Drive. By the time the end comes you will no doubt say wow. Nicolas Winding Refn has topped his game with this picture and it's the recipe of Hossein Amini adapted screen play, the cinematography and a superb lead actor which produces a beautiful meal for the audience to enjoy.
When The Driver finally rests he goes home to an apartment block where he instantly catches the eye of his neighbour, the beautifully innocent Irene (Carey Mulligan). They connect, and after helping Irene with her car, it's her young son who wants to bond with our usually impassive lead only this time some emotions are displayed as he takes a shine to the boy. Unfortunately after a week, her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison and rather than being violent towards a man who has been helping his wife, he weighs up The Driver and quickly befriends his new neighbour. Although Standard is out of prison he is not out of debt and when our protagonist spots him beaten up, his deep feelings for the family take over he agrees to help in a £1 million heist by being the man behind the wheel!
To describe any more would ruin the movie, but the rest of the cast are all important. Bryan Cranston plays a surrogate father type or is the batteries of our Driver, if you will. Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks are your day time 'friends', night time gang members. Carey has a strong on screen connection with Ryan; however this is Ryan Goslings film. He embodies everything great about this movie. He is always cool, he picks roles that are challenging so he can produce his best and more importantly becomes the role rather then acts the role. If he wasn't already a wanted man, he is now.
What's great is the film feels real, real time, real characters and no CGI in sight. The cinematography plays with lighting, initiating moods and emotions with panoramic shots while the mise en scene provides a 1980s atmosphere filled with 80's style music within a gloomy LA.
The real kudos of this film lies with Director Nicolas Winding Refn. He has created an elegant, stylish movie with deep emotion which is subtly shown. He achieves this by utilising specific camera angles which speak volumes so the actors can say nothing and the scenes be incredibly powerful. Images and relationships that are transcendent, it's a film that gives and deserves respect. Drive may not gather huge main stream success but it will be a cult classic.
(my ratings are based on 6 average, 7 good, 8 v.good, 9 superb, 10 epic)