I didn't know what they meant when they said Gosling hit it out of the park

Rating: 9/10 (1 October 2011)

But it doesn't take long to agree completely. I hadn't really enjoyed his roles until now. This one features a very low key guy most male viewers will admire as coming from the cool guy side of the movies. What's surprising is that Gosling gave no inkling, to me anyway, that he could handle or seem appropriate for this kind of role. And that makes the fact that someone did see it in him, almost as impressive as his performance. But enough of that. You'll form your own opinion, I'm sure. Let's just say you'll have fun doing so especially since this is not a role that tries for something that couldn't actually be.
Another surprise for me was the direction in this film. I haven't seen this kind of treatment in a long time. It's reminiscent of spaghetti westerns but really it's its own style. I especially liked the sense of being in the main character's car and this director's sense of timing. All, like a spaghetti western, enhanced by well selected music.
There's violence, more than I expected, but nothing that I can't believe could actually happen given the story. However, this might turn off female viewers in particular, as it did my wife's friend. And it's why the film is rated R.
There are a couple of small points I could quibble about but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, so enough said.