Film school teaches how to make parts of films, I guess...

Rating: 7/10 (7 June 2012)

Delicious disappointment—like when I make deep-fried calamari and the breading slides off sloppily, but is still very edible in a way. And the opening of Drive is so cool, too. (Cannes gave best director). -----–It certainly isn't "Vanishing Point" with Barry Newman driving to Heaven, driving to salvation in the '70's.------A lot of nice pieces of a movie but no vision to ground it and bless it with spirit so it can 'live on', like the great memorables. Actually, hearing the director's interview, it seems his vision had no way of translating to a grounded video. His ideas sound coherent and euro (it's another invasion), but he has no grammar skills or crafts to make it a movie. A tone poem recited with chamber music live on stage might have been an exciting night in Paris or Stockholm, but it can't find it's way to feature non-experimental video. To translate requires cats who can really hold a vision between their teeth while creating new and newish movie techniques all the while fending off the interlopers in HollyBollywood.-------Movies like this make me want to be a script doctor like Robert Towne; it would be sooo easy. This needed more of any and less of so many. The opening theme ends in ten minutes replaced by another cool concept (having the mob finance his pro racing career), only to be replaced several more times. Only one more encore of the opening, otherwise we have about five cool movies. The opening was so good I can't let it go. It's also the ad presentation for this flick. So much could have been done developing and evolving this idea of a pro getaway driver who monitors the police radio and has an asberger-ian memory of the enormity of LA's streets and police procedure. It felt partially like a video game, 'Matrix' style— absolutely the coolest; this could have been an iconic cult favorite, like the great ones. Ryan Gosling is the new Paul Newman/Brad Pitt. Add a little gameboy-and/or- spiritual philosophy and who knows how high this could have reached. Unlike all the quality long-form on cable TV, this 2 hr could have been an LA bullet train-to- the-front-brain. But, alas, actually falls to a failed indy style high voltage mess.--—--Logically it connects, but emotionally it disconnects at every turn. It can't ground and be continuous. The continuity would build whatever you want to build and make all subsequent moments (let alone scenes) count and deepen. This is the foundation of melodrama which IS modern films, even comedies. The best thrillers compound all this, making the thing explode! ('...dancing' to the tick of a clock timer)----—So you have a fine moment that is allowed to evaporate and actually recede because it isn't allowed to touch the lingua franca, the syntax that IS a feature entertainment. No syntax is created. There is no 'time code', if you will, to monitor and act as referent to the cascading of activity. Usually this is done with a cementing 'quiet' sub-scene, or something that reiterates/adds somehow what's gone on recently. Compare to "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" by Sydney Lumet—it's a 'network' of pre and post referring that hones this into a sword of intensity. Drive had no chance of any of this once they introduced so many premises and didn't develop any. The internal narrative Winding Refn had in his head just didn't get over to the style gestalt that is a film. Have I reiterated enough to make the point?-------—I also don't understand why these indy oriented guys don't bring in 20-30 semi-extras to fill in all the spaces of a film, you know, like in LIFE. Wouldn't have to pay 'em much.-------–This could have been a Vanishing Point of the new era leading to so many roads cyber/cyborgian. Well, Oscar Isaac in a supporting role is someone to keep an eye on. The rest of the 6 or so cast were all very good actors/presences but actually contributed to the vision migration. Drive would be great to study in film school, or for all the new have-cameras have-Final Cut Pros out there never to be in a school for film.