A solid noir thriller...

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2012)

...from a mostly unknown (in the US) director, Nicolas Winding "Valhalla Rising" Refn, "Drive" features a terse adaptation of a James Sallis novel by Hossein "Killshot" Amini, some deliciously stark and moody lensing by Newton Thomas "The Usual Suspects" Sigel, a taut score from Cliff "Sex, Lies & Videotape" Martinez (with immaculately chosen pop song accompaniment), and all the production and design atmosphere you could ask. Thanks to superb casting and Rejn's directorial abilities, "Driver" presents a tight, simmering character-driven piece that periodically explodes in gory mayhem. Ryan "The Notebook" Gosling deserves all the accolades he's been getting for his fully invested portrayal of the titular, laconic anti-hero, while the support from the likes of Carey "Shame" Mulligan, Albert "you have to ask?" Brooks, Ron "you have to ask again?" Perlman, Bryan "Breaking Bad" Cranston, Christina "Mad Men" Hendricks, Oscar "Robin Hood" Isaac, and even a cameo Russ "West Side Story" Tamblyn provides a thoroughly realized foundation. "Driver" has style and substance to spare; if I were to have any complaint, it might be about the somewhat melodramatic finale, which I refuse to spoil here.
Rejn proves once and for all that he is a highly competent storyteller worth keeping an eye on. Gosling absolutely demonstrates his rising star power and the subtlety of his acting chops; this young man has a long, illustrious career ahead of him. "Driver" is excellent work of savage noir entertainment, although not for the fainthearted, and perhaps not as great as its current IMDb rating might suggest (cult of the new rules here far too often), but very much worth catching. Highly recommended.