Gritty, Violent Art-house Thriller!

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2013)

Drive is an excellent film just how most critics made it out to be. It is a gritty and sometimes quite disturbing film. It's also a way different film than I expected it to be and it seems I was the only person who accepted that. This film was basically marketed as action film similar to the Fast and the Furious franchise but in reality, it wouldn't come close. This is a slow-paced drama with very violent scenes incorporated in.
This crime film directed by Nicholas Winding Refn is about a guy named "Driver" who is a Hollywood stunt driver by day and getaway driver by night. He falls in love with his neighbor and that romance spirals them both into the underworld where heists gone wrong can be quite deadly.
The acting is really good as it should be with a cast like this. Ryan Gosling is becoming a great, versatile actor as it seems like he has been in every movie that came out in 2011. Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, and Ron Perlman make a very convincing supporting cast. I really thought Mulligan shined the most though.
Overall, this is a very good crime thriller that reminds me of the heyday of crime films back in the 70's. I noticed how sharp the camera movements are especially when showing scenes of the city at night which reminded me of 2004's Collateral. It seemed like people didn't like this film because it didn't have many action sequences. But, Drive is good, very good for what it is. I rate this film 9/10.