An Actor's Movie

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2014)

Ryan Gosling continues to develop as one of our better leading actors and while his performance here doesn't break any ground, his portrayal of a part-time stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver is the kind of stoic, intense role that audiences have come to identify as particularly American. The Danish director, Nicolas Winding Refn, seems to understand this and builds his L.A. noir around Gosling's combination of silent menace and vulnerability, which contributes to the delicious tension that forms almost immediately and which frequently explodes in well-filmed car chases and paralyzing ultra-violence (images, while well-edited by Newton Thomas Sigel, that are not for the faint of heart). Fine supporting performances by Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac and Ron Perlman also add to the quality flavor of the film; but it's Albert Brooks, playing against type as a brutal yet agreeable gangster, who continues to astonish, adding yet another layer of complexity to his diverse film repertoire and making him one of the greatest hidden assets Hollywood has to offer.