Drive (2011) - My Hands are a Little Dirty! Well, So are Albert Brook's Hands!

Rating: 9/10 (5 February 2012)

With openly critical acclaim and tons of box office buzz, "Drive" is recognized as one of the more artistic motion pictures of the film noir. This is basically an art house movie about a driver who's a Hollywood stunt driver and mechanic during the day, and a criminal getaway driver at night. Ryan Gosling is just terrific playing the solitary driver, and since being a terrific actor, he delivers a dark beauty to this character, and delivers enough charisma and attitude. He was just perfection in this performance. He then falls in love for his neighbor, portrayed by Carey Mulligan, whose husband returns from jail, and tries to help him with a heist that later goes wrong. The movie then falls into sharp consequences between serious criminals who want something more than money. This falls into a bloody and intense thriller that just keeps going and going. Yes, there are depressing long scenes with no dialogue, and the movie does start at a slow pace, and Hossein Amini's well-written script wasn't really that much of a big deal, but "Drive" is still one of the most entertaining movies of the previous year. Director Nicolas Winding-Refn perfectly makes a movie filled with intense bloody sequences, top-notch action, an interesting plot, and well-made character development. I couldn't have asked for more. Aside from Gosling and Mulligan, the rest of the brilliant casting ensemble includes Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, and Albert Brooks in a scene-stealing performance as a former movie producer, now a vicious villain. I just wish that the Oscars never snubbed Brooks, because he should have deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The soundtrack is wonderful, the score is breathtaking, the editing is superb, the cinematography is scene-stealing, the directing is top-notch, and the cast is just wonderful. Everything brilliant about this movie makes you wonder where that 100-minute running time has gone. This is a brilliant art house film for true movie lovers out there. Go watch this movie, if you want to see Ryan Gosling behind the wheel. If you don't see this movie, just don't make me bring the hammer. "Drive", in my review, "a beautifully well-made thriller for the ages".