Actions speak louder than words

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2012)

This is one of those films that targets a niche audience. If your one for the mainstream flicks that Hollywood endlessly feeds us, than there is a high chance that this movie will not satisfy your taste. But if your one for enjoying a grind/art house and or foreign picture, or simply something a bit outlandish, you may find Drive to be a very enjoyable and rememberable film. Its concoction of 80's throwback and modern ambient score meshed with ultra violence, the substitution of body language for words and a traditional crime noir genre picture wrapped in the structure of a fairy tale/super hero story, is what makes this tale unique. If you are a well rounded cinema goer then you most likely will recognize the pastiche of work borrowed (e.g. the man with no name Clint Eastwood character, korean style action pacing, Miami Vice/Bullet/Driver Esq crime plot) This interesting mix is what makes Drive so refreshing.
Contrary to the cult following's love for this movie, numerous people have stated that Drive was god awful. But it's not that the movie is poorly crafted, but rather the greater audience simply cant be entertained or understand a film I would classify as introverted. What Gosling and Mulligan share on screen is a strong connection that is shown through action not words. This may not equate to the type of entertainment most Americans are accustomed to and that is one common reason why Drive falls short in the eye of the masses. Other's say the premise is cliché, I will admit I thought the same... but it's the near flawless execution of such common material that makes it so refreshing.
Many critics and film enthusiasts love this picture because they don't watch films strictly for entertainment but rather for the craft of filmmaking and the deeper meaning behind the stories and character interactions; Drive is very much a film for the deep thinker. Im not saying it's an intellectual piece of cinema, but rather a movie where you must understand and enjoy the nature of passionate introverts and visual symbolism to really LOVE IT.
Drive is easily in my top 5 films of 2011, top 50 of the past 10 years, and top 100 of what I've seen. If you're wondering why I only gave the movie an 8 out of 10 then, its because no movie in my eyes deserves a 10 or a 100% because no movie is perfect and it wont receive a 9 because although I love this film, due to its withdrawn/introverted minimalist nature, it lacks the ability to convey a wide range of emotions that the majority of truly outstanding films deliver.