An unforgettable Drive!

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2011)

I am going to quickly put it in first gear and off-the-bat mention that Director Nicholas Winding Refn's "Drive" is sure to be the #1 badass movie of 2011. OK, maybe many of you reading this feel that I put it in overdrive with that statement, but you have to trust me on this one. Ryan Gosling stars as (he pulled one out of Clint Eastwood's "man with no name" spaghetti westerns) because his name is never mentioned throughout the movie, he is just simply Driver. How cool is that? Driver is an orthodontist, brace yourself. OK, so he is not. Helloo! What do you think he is! Ryan Seacrest eat your heart out because Driver has more Hollywood gigs than you. Driver is a Hollywood stunt driver for movies, a mechanic at an L.A. body shop, and a contract driver for thieves on their robbery hits. He is tacit, conscious, and of course driven. He befriends a cutesy apartment neighbor Irene and her son Benicio. When Irene's husband Standard returns from a prison sentence and hires Driver for a forced robbery , "Drive" is taken to another gear altogether, and shifts more to an ultra-violence speed. The Standard operation heads to a dead-end zone and that is when "Drive" moves up to top cool control. Refn's mastery of the movie's guise, unpredictability, and stylishness are key factors why this movie rocks! Refn is very deserving of a Best Director Oscar nomination. I will be refn mad if that does not happens! Hossein Amini's staid screenplay is limited in wordage but unlimited in deftness. Gosling does not take a back seat to anyone with his stellar starring performance. 2011 is looking like the year of the Gosling, so I think he is on the right route for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Carey Mulligan was solid as Irene. Albert Brooks delivers a menacing performance as the antagonist Bernie Rose. Looks like Brooks' comeback is heading in the right direction. Give The Brooks a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nom! Some other nice turns were thespianly delivered in "Drive" by Bryan Cranston as body shop owner Shannon, Oscar Issac as Standard, and Ron Perlman as Rose's partner Nino. Cliff Martinez's perfect score was musically "up to speed" with the film's pace. So go and drive to see "Drive", it is a ticket to movie supremacy. ***** Excellent